The Greater Share of Honor
by wheresthemuse
Summary: Hundreds of years after the first manned mission to Mars, mankind lives among the stars and is embroiled in a decade long conflict with a mysterious foe. This story follows a squadron of pilots on the front-lines of the war who are fighting to save mankind. Bechloe (slow burn) and Staubrey. T for now - M later for violence and relationship scenes. Give it a chance ;)
1. Chapter 1

"Nomad! Break left! Break left! Bandit has lock." The frantic radio transmission crackled in the pilot's ears as she pulled hard on the stick. Her Hellcat jerked left and the pilot continued rolling, pressing a button on the stick to release countermeasures. Seconds later a flash of green light bathed her cockpit and then the silent blastwave hit. Upending her aircraft and setting off a cacophony of alarms.

Nomad struggled to regain control of the Hellcat while fighting back the nausea of seeing the distant planet rotating in and out of her field of view as her craft tumbled in space.

The radio chatter continued as her squadron battled around her. The bright orange ISC weapons contrasting with the neon green of the Gaks.

Nomad finally got her auxiliary thrusters to fire, stopping the spin, but leaving her drifting towards the planet below. She knocked her gloved hand against the Hellcat's tactical screen, jogging it back to life. The triangles of her squadron were weaving in a deadly dance among the squares of the enemy. It didn't look good for her side as they were heavily outnumbered. The alien Gaks had sprung an effective ambush, coming from behind the dark side of the planet to intercept their squadron.

The radio crackled back to life with the accented voice on the other end sounding breathy and slightly panicked. "Nomad this is Vandal Leader, report status."

Nomad sighed into her helmet then radioed out breaking into the chatter. "Vandal Leader this is Nomad. Nomad thrusters bent, over."

She continued to try and get her engines to restart, the repair protocol kept hanging meaning that her systems were heavily compromised.

The comms went silent for a beat before the Vandal Leader came back with, "Vandals Abort. I repeat Vandals abort engagement."

_3 months later…_

Captain Aubrey Posen walked briskly down the passageway, juggling a tablet and a clipboard with papers, her blonde hair swept back in a tight French braid. Ever since realizing that the enemies had technology that could easily turn a toaster into a weapon, the ISF and member planets had adopted a low tech approach to the war which meant paper, lots and lots of paper again. Aubrey arrived at a hatch marked Briefing Room and straightened her flight suit needlessly before entering the room. It was set up like a miniature movie theater with rows of seats angled up and a large view-screen on the front. Most of her squadron were already lounging about talking amongst themselves.

Aubrey placed the tablet and papers on the podium at the front and checked her watch, unconsciously straightening her spine, though her posture was rigid to begin with. She turned towards the door and stood with her hands clasped behind her back. Aubrey almost calls the room to attention as a flustered red head bolts into the room, shooting an apologetic glance at Aubrey before sliding gracefully into one of the front row seats with the rest of the squadron offering good natured ribbing about her tardiness. Except for one of the pilots who leaned forward, his loutish features forming into a leer.

"Who were you doing Beale? I mean what were you doing?" the loud comment from him row earned a glare and the red head turned to retort but stopped when Aubrey barks out "Attention on deck!" The pilots snapped to attention, all traces of their former raucous antics gone.

A handsome middle aged man with grey edging out the brown hair at his temples entered and placed himself to the side of the podium at a table, while the honeyed blonde stepped up to the podium. Her voice rung out, "At ease people." She nodded to Aubrey who moved gracefully to sit next to the red head.

Squadron Executive Officer Lt. Col Gail Abernathy stood behind the podium gripping its edges with purpose. She was a striking woman, clad in the same black flight suit the other pilots wore. Years of conflict had done little to diminish her beauty, only adding depth to the lines at the edges of her mouth and eyes, giving her a certain gravity.

"The Skipper and I need your undivided attention for the next hour. What we are about to brief to you does not get discussed outside of this room, under any circumstances." The older woman paused a moment, raking her eyes over the pilots before continuing, "We have actionable intel that leads us to believe ISF pilots and several colonists are being held prisoner at a base in the Capella system." The woman paused a moment to let that sink in. A few startled murmurs rippled through the audience and she waited a beat before continuing.

"As you know, we have never found one of their bases before. Much less ever had the hope of finding our people after they had been taken. We have been tasked with recovering the colonists, our people and any information we can at this site. Time is of the essence so we will be partnering with two other squadrons to infiltrate, extract the personnel and gather any intel we can find at this base. I do not have to stress to you how vital this mission is. We know very little about our enemy and it is no secret that we are losing this war." When she paused a dark haired woman raised her hand. "Yes Lt. Conrad?"

"Ma'am, how did we get this intel?" Lt Col Abernathy glanced at the man she had walked in with. He nodded at the group, steepling his fingers before replying,

"We are not at liberty to discuss those details at this time." His gaze returned to the XO.

Before the XO could continue another pilot, a skinny blonde called out, "What Squadron are the prisoners from?"

"The Squadron that we lost were enroute to embark on the ICVN Arcturus. We have reason to believe based on the data recovered from a flight recorder that the attack was an ambush. Which means that we have to be prepared for anything. The Lt Col consulted the notes on her podium, they were the 251st Vandals."

A murmur of surprise rippled through the room and the red head in the front audibly gasped, bringing her hand up in front of her mouth.

"Something to add Chloe?" Lt Col Abernathy asked the red head.

"Beca was two years behind us at the Academy, she's a, uh… friend." The XO quirked a blonde eyebrow, frowning slightly. "Jesse and Luke were with us there too. We know them."

The Lt. Col nodded in acknowledgement. "The Skipper and I realize that you have friends down there. Which is why our Squadron's primary responsibility will be extracting the prisoners. The Raiders will provide air support and the Black Wolves will handle infiltrating what we believe to be the data center."

"Pictures and details of the personnel we are rescuing will be provided to the Fireteam Leaders for identification purposes."

The rest of the briefing covered the strategic details of the infiltration mission and their assignments, the pilots had their kneeboards out taking notes of vital information. Once the details were briefed the LT Col paused for a moment looking down at her podium before locking gazes with Aubrey and Chloe in turn before surveying the room. "Look team, we know you have friends down there. People you care about or maybe partied with. They need you at your best. This mission will be one of the most dangerous we have ever attempted in this war and we have absolutely no room for error. No room for doubt. You are all Marines. Keep your heads in the game on this one and bring them home. HOORAH!

A loud HOORAH echoed through the briefing room in response.

"Alright. Dismissed team. Captains stay behind."


	2. Chapter 2

After the group filed out the CO and XO looked at the four remaining pilots. The CO called them over to sit at the table on the edge of the room. Captain Chloe "Rider" Beale, the redheaded pilot was the first to sit down at the long table. The XO quirked a quick smile and then turned to look as Captain Aubrey "Valkyrie" Posen joined her shipmate. Theodore "Bumper" Allen, the one who had heckled Chloe sat across from the others with his friend Captain Donald "Socks" Ankar, a dark skinned slim man with an unruly mop of dark hair.

Once they were seated the CO leaned forward, "The XO and I wanted to talk to you four separately. This is Top Secret Compartmentalized Information and needs to be treated as such." He paused letting that sink in before continuing, "Several high ranking members of the Consortium Government were visiting Regulus 4 when it was hit." He paused as the faces of his subordinates registered their shock. He held up a hand forestalling their questions and continued.

"The loss of Regulus 4 was not broadcast for security reasons. In addition 1st Lt. Mitchell is Senator Mitchell's daughter and with his prominence on the Security Council there is even more at stake here."

The XO spoke next, "We know how close some of you were with the Vandals. Some of them were with you at the Academy and their Captains were with you at Basic. We need everyone focused on the mission. Tell me now if this will be an issue for any of you or the others." She made eye contact with each of her Captains assessing their state of mind. All of them murmured a negative.

The CO nodded satisfied, opening the folder in front of him and laying out several photos. They were the glossy photos that every service member had taken when they were commissioned or promoted. Their home planet's flag was on one side and the blue ISC flag on the other. A couple of official government photos were included of the Consortium officials.

The Captains did their best to maintain composure when the pictures of Jesse, Luke and Beca were laid out on the table. Chloe instinctively pulled her had from under the table laid it palm down in an aborted gesture. Aubrey glanced at her furrowing her brow before asking the question she knew Chloe wanted to desperately blurt out, "Do we know for sure that they are alive?"

The CO sighed and said, "They have been captives for months now - so we do not know what condition they are in. Your main priority is to retrieve the colonists and our pilots. Run your vids, Intel wants to review after the mission. Take note of everything you come across, we don't want you lingering though -if you find anything relevant to our war effort and it is easily extracted then do it. However, under no circumstances are you to compromise extracting those people. They are the focus of this mission.

The pilots nodded relieved that they were not being asked to sacrifice their fellow Marines in pursuit of the war effort.

Lt Col Smith continued, "We need a win here for obvious reasons. The Interstellar Consortium is losing hope. There have been calls lately from member planets to hold a vote about seceding. We get these people back, we get back some hope."

The CO let his words sink in. Donald finally asked the question they had all been thinking, "Sir, if this is so important, why only three squadrons? Shouldn't we be sending everything in the sector?" The CO fiddled with his sleeve before answering.

"We're it. The Margarethe and the Kepler are tasked for another assignment. "

Gail cleared her throat and interjected, "The launch window is in twelve hours. We couldn't wait for reinforcements from outside the sector. Now go, get some rest. See you on the flight deck."

With that the two older officers stood up gathering their briefing materials but leaving the folder of photos behind. The four Captains stood at attention until they were out of the room. Bumper wasted no time in trying to get a rise out of the women after their superiors had left.

"So we get to rescue the famous Senator Mitchell's daughter? Hey Posen, didn't you have a run in with the mad midget back at the Academy?" Bumper leaned in to Aubrey's space, "Wonder how many strings her father pulled for this one."

Aubrey stood up abruptly forcing Bumper to take a step back. Jaw clenched she spat out, "I clearly remember her making you look like an ass during that training mission Bumper." The blonde pulled herself to her full height looking down at him and continued, "Beca is still one of us. She is a Marine and we do not leave our own behind. Now get your head on right."

Chloe gathered the folder and followed Aubrey out of the room leaving Bumper with a parting glare. The redhead hugged the folder to her chest as She followed Aubrey down the passageway towards their stateroom.

Being at the top of the Junior Officer food chain meant that they had a four man stateroom. The lower ranking officers bunked in the large stateroom that everyone called the JO Jungle mainly because it had the tendency to resemble the Primate Exhibits on Old Earth zoos and had a tendency to smell like one too.

The staterooms were designed for the efficient use of space. Bunks or racks as they were called were placed above desks along the bulkheads with lockers on either side. A small sitting area and table completed the spartan space.

1st Lt Stacie "Angel" Conrad was lounging at Aubrey's desk filing her nails when the women walked in. Chloe smiled wanly at her before placing the folder down on her own desk and climbing up onto the bunk being careful not to damage the picture she held in her hand.

Stacie stopped filing and reached out for Aubrey's hand in an attempt to pull the blonde towards her. Aubrey frowned and pulled away with an undignified squawk. "Stacie!"

Stacie smiled up at the blonde, "Come on Aubrey. How about a little stress relief before the big mission?" Aubrey's eyebrows hiked skyward.

"Stacie no!" She hissed, "It was one time!" Aubrey glanced self-consciously at Chloe who was still sitting hunched on her rack staring off into nothing. Stacie followed Aubrey's gaze and noticed the red head's dejected posture. Normally Stacie flirting with the reticent blonde would have made Chloe laugh, but the redhead didn't even acknowledge them. Stacie sat up abandoning her intent to tease Aubrey in the face of a sad Chloe. No one liked a sad Chloe. Aubrey closed the distance and placed her hand on Chloe's knee and rested her shoulder against her leg.

Stacie spoke before Aubrey could start, "Hey Chlo, what's up with the long face?"

Aubrey glanced behind her at Stacie before looking back up at Chloe. The blonde followed up, "Chloe? What is it?"

The woman looked over at the empty bunk in the room before looking back to Aubrey. Her voice was rough with emotion, "We've lost so many. What if…what if this is more of the same?"

Stacie came around to Chloe's other side worried because the bright woman was usually the optimist in the group. Sure she wasn't the same carefree, bubbly person she was when they first started the Academy, but then again none of them really were. Despite the horror of the war they were fighting Chloe had always seen the bright side of things. Softly, Stacie said "Losing Kaz was hard Chloe. But we'll get the Vandals back."

Stacie mirrored Aubrey by placing a hand on Chloe's other knee. "Plus, we are totally the best. The Gaks will never know what hit them." Chloe smiled thinly at the other pilot's reassurance.

"Yeah I guess you guys are right."

Stacie looked between the two roommates and decided this was enough melancholy for one day. "You know," she began, voice dripping with seduction, hand sliding up Chloe's leg slowly, "we could forget all about this for a while." She made eye contact with Aubrey's incredulous green eyes. "What do you say? Threesome?" Finishing with a sexy grin she stepped back a bit as Chloe snorted and nudged her with her leg.

"Stacie!" Chloe finally laughed out. "Quit it or you're gonna break Aubrey."

Aubrey huffed and hid a small smile at their teasing before going back to her desk and opening a folder of maintenance records. Stacie stared at the back of her head in mock disbelief. "Oh my god, you can't seriously be turning down a threesome to do paperwork Posen!"

Aubrey replied archly, "We have a mission tomorrow Angel. I want to make sure everything is in order."

Chloe and Stacie shared a look before Stacie laughed. "Right Bree." The brunette turned towards the door caressing the back of Aubrey's neck as she passed and leaning down to whisper in the blonde's ear, "I like when you call me Angel." Aubrey shuddered at the touch doing her best to hide it and failing. Winking at Chloe, Stacie said "See you ladies in the morning."

A final smirk from the tall pilot and the two Captains were alone in the room again.

Aubrey turned in her chair to face the redhead who was swinging her legs absently. "Want to talk about it?"

Chloe seemed to come back from somewhere far away. "No…not really." She twirled a strand of her hair absently. "Think I am going to just sleep. Big day tomorrow right?"

Aubrey watched as Chloe jumped down to throw on a pair of black running shorts and a white Henley before climbing back into her bunk. The blonde Captain envied Chloe's ability to sleep anytime and anywhere. It was a handy skill in their line of work, but the blonde had never been able to settle her nerves that way.

Aubrey scoffed to herself, at least she had worked through the need to vomit at every setback she realized. So in an attempt to quiet the inner voice that kept telling her the CO and XO were hiding something she turned back to the maintenance reports, losing herself in making sure every system and variable was checked. Aubrey carried on until exhaustion overwhelmed her and she climbed into her own rack staring at the overhead pipes before finally dropping off into a fitful slumber.


	3. Chapter 3

Stacie paused outside the Jungle, listening to the dull roar of voices behind the door. The night before a mission was always rowdy, filled with good natured teasing and boasting as if they could stave off the darkness with their bravado. The lanky brunette pushed open the door to find Jessica wrestling with Ashley while the others catcalled. The combatants broke apart laughing when they heard Stacie enter.

Cynthia Rose was the first to speak, "Yo Stace, did you get the goods?"

Stacie shook her head, "No, they were acting a little weird." Groans were heard from the other women.

Fat Amy, one of the Intel Officers was lounging on a rack in the back and called out, "What you couldn't get Posen to sing? Losing your touch there Angel?" Denise threw a pillow at her.

Stacie shook her head again, "No way was I trying that again. Besides, the last time I pissed Aubrey off before a mission, she made me collect those samples from that swamp on Garrick 7, remember?"

The other women laughed and Ashley said, "Oh man I was your backseat that time, I thought I was going to die from the smell."

Jessica turned to Fat Amy, "Hey, you're the Intel weenie, how come you don't know what they were talking about with the Skipper?"

"Ummmm…ahhhhhhhh…mmmmmmm." Fat Amy mumbled out.

Stacie moved to her rack, stretching out her long frame. C. R. moved Stacie's legs and sat at the end. "How are you holding up? You know we'll get shawty back right?"

Jessica moved over to stand next to C.R. and Stacie, "We'll get them all back."

C.R. looked over at Jessica nodding, "Jackal's right Stacie. I can't wait to see the look on Beca's face when we rescue her midget ass." Stacie snorted and then looked over as Lily, a slim Asian woman entered the room carrying a small duffel bag that clinked as she sat it on the table. The other women crowded around as she opened the bag.

Ashley said, "Did you get the stuff Ghost?" Lily smiled and opened the bag wider to show shot glasses and two bottles of whiskey.

C.R. whistled low, "One of these days you'll have to tell us how you do it girl." Stacie started helping Lily pass out the glasses. Fat Amy looked around in surprise.

"Don't you twig bitches have a big mission tomorrow? I mean not that I am a prude or anything, there was that time back on New Tasmania that I got wasted and tried to ride that cow."

Ashley just stated matter-of-factly, "It's tradition." C.R. finished pouring a healthy shot for each of them and nodded to Amy to pick up a glass.

Stacie straightened and held her glass up, watching as the women around her mirrored her action and then she solemnly said,

"_Here's to cheating, stealing, fighting, and drinking.  
If you cheat, may you cheat death,  
If you steal, may you steal victory from defeat,  
If you fight, may you fight for each other,  
And if you drink, may you drink with me._"

A chorus of "Hoorah" sounded and each downed their shot and slammed the glass down on the table.

Fat Amy looked around sensing the change in her friends, they seemed more determined. Suddenly feeling a little out of place, she made for the door.

"Alright you layabouts, I'll be back tomorrow to celebrate and show you how drinking is done!"

The rest called out their good-byes and then headed for their racks.

Stacie climbed into her rack and C.R. walked over to the brunette, putting her hand on the edge before questioning softly, "You sure you're okay?"

Stacie rolled on her side facing the black woman, "Yeah, just hoping Beca and the others are okay." The brunette paused for a moment before continuing, "I can't shake the feeling that the Skipper and XO left a lot out of that briefing."

C.R. frowned a bit, "I know, I feel it too. But I trust Aubrey and Chloe. If we needed to know they would have told us."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Stacie smiled a bit and then mumbled a "good night" before rolling over.

_0730 – Hangar Bay_

Aubrey stood in front of her Squadron with the clipboard barking out last minute instructions. Everyone was kitted out in full battle gear and waiting to board the Badgers, a squat heavily armored troop transport.

Bumper approached her with his own clipboard. Aubrey was proud that she restrained herself from smacking his smug face, but she still put some bite into her words. "What do you want?"

Bumper merely smiled in the face or her hostility. "I want to trade Rooster for Jackal." Aubrey's brows knit in confusion.

"Why, Denise is just as good as Jessica?"

"Come on, you know Denise hates me." Bumper whined. Aubrey grinned.

"Bumper, everyone hates you. Now shut up or I'll give you Lily." Bumper's face reddened and he walked off mumbling. Aubrey turned back to the squad.

"Alright, listen up Marines. Force recon is joining us for this. Rider, Angel, Wizard and myself will be going on Badger 2 with Ghost and Jackal. The rest of you are with Bumper. Trips and Rooster will be flying your bird. We are radio silent until we touch down." The blonde Captain paused a moment before continuing.

"Any questions?" Aubrey scanned the determined faces of the pilots in front of her locking eyes for a moment with Chloe, then Stacie. A voice ringing out behind her made her jump slightly.

"Mind if the Skipper and I tag along?" Lt Col Abernathy was suited up and carrying her flight helmet along with Lt Col Smith. She smiled at the surprised faces of their pilots and continued, "Come on now, you didn't think we'd let you have all the fun?"

The Squadron cheered back at them and even Aubrey managed a smile. The CO continued on to start checking out his Hellcat while the XO remained.

"The CO and I are going to help out with air support while you guys are ground side. Bring our people home!" She smiled at them before heading for her Hellcat.

Aubrey turned around and shouted, "You heard the XO! Fall out!"

_2 hours later_

Aubrey stood in the doorway to the cockpit looking over Ghost and Jackal's shoulders at the moon growing larger in the viewport.

Jackal turned to the Captain, "Twenty mikes out Valkyrie, and no sign of the Gaks. We aren't reading any weapons placements either." The Captain continued to stare at the moon for a beat longer before saying,

"It is too quiet. Stay alert." Both of the pilots acknowledged and Lily tightened her grip on the controls.

Jackal pointed to the installation. "We're going to approach and lock down on that eastern wing. Hopefully our intel is right and that is close enough to the detention area."

The blonde Captain turned and went back into the hold to brief the team. Everyone was strapped into jumpseats except for one of the Force Recon Captains who was leaning into Chloe's space with Chloe leaning as far back in her seat as possible. Narrowing her eyes Aubrey pushed the other Marine back none too gently. He stumbled and caught himself.

"Hey!" His brown eyes flashing he took a step towards her.

Aubrey folded her arms and glared.

"Problem Captain Beckett?" She bit out.

Chloe cut him off from answering, "No, Tom was just leaving." The man looked between Chloe and Aubrey before sighing and walking off to the back of the hold where the rest of his team was.

Aubrey turned her gaze to Chloe, "Problem Rider?"

Chloe looked a little peeved at Aubrey's tone but shook her head. Aubrey turned to the rest of the Marines who were looking everywhere but at the blonde Captain. Well, everyone except for Stacie who was staring at like Aubrey like she was naked. Aubrey scoffed to herself, Stacie always looked at her that way lately. Benji who went by the callsign of Wizard, another of the squadron's 2nd Lt.'s looked between the two before noticing the brunette's leer and elbowed Stacie, snapping her out of it.

Aubrey consulted her chronometer then barked out, "Ten minutes! Suit up!" The Marines started putting on the rest of their gear, including their Oxygen Rebreathers in case the environment was hostile. The sound of weapons powering up could be heard through the confined space which always made Aubrey's blood quicken. She saw the same anticipation in her fellow Marines. They edged forward on their seats and their eyes hardened as gloved hands tightened on the rifle stocks.

Aubrey went and stood next to Benji. "Remember team, we don't know where our people are. We expect resistance on the ground, but watch your fire, we don't want to take down any friendlies by accident."

The Transport jolted as it entered the moon's thin atmosphere before decelerating. In moments the noise of the thrusters firing thundered through the hold. Finally the craft contacted the outer shell of the installation and a metallic clanking rattled as the magnetic lock sealed the transport to the structure.

Aubrey motioned Captain Beckett forward. He and another marine held a heavy circular metal hoop between them that was almost as tall as they were.

Aubrey waited for the green light to show a lock on the hatch at her feet and then pressed a button opening it. The other Marines fitted the circular hoop to the opening in the hatch. Tom made sure it fit and pulled a red handle, yelling out: "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

The Marines averted their eyes as the hoop descended rapidly followed by a flash and a small explosion as the hoop cut through the outer wall of the installation. Captain Tom Beckett was the first through the hole followed by his second in command. As soon as their boots touched the ground laser fire echoed through the passageway.

Tom's voice could be heard crackling through the radio, "Alpha advance! Bravo suppressing fire!"

Aubrey waited for a break in the fire and then signaled for the next group of Marines to go. Soon, the entire Force Recon was through, leaving just her team. Chloe was next to her at the top of the hatch and the two shared a determined look before dropping through the hole and into the fire fight.


	4. Chapter 4

The smell of cordite and ozone assaulted Aubrey's senses even through the filters in her rebreather as soon as her boots hit the dark grey metal floor of the installation. Captain Tom Beckett pulled her down next to him as Chloe took up a position across the hallway in the well of a doorway. Beckett's team could be seen advancing down the hall, stepping over puddles of dark liquid.

Down at one end of the hallway, where Beckett's team was advancing was a T-Junction. Behind them the hallway stretched out for another fifty meters before angling off. Aubrey turned as Benji and Stacie landed with surprising grace behind her.

Locking eyes with the brown haired Captain, Aubrey hooked her thumb over her shoulder and said, "We'll head off down this passageway." Tom nodded his agreement.

"Check in on the fives," was his reply and with a quick look at Chloe he followed his team towards the junction.

"Rider, on point. Wizard behind me and get a scan going. Angel watch our rear." Stacie winked at Aubrey as she took up the rear position. Aubrey barely resisted rolling her eyes before setting out behind Chloe as the team moved efficiently down the hallway, weapons at the ready.

"Atmo reads breathable and scanner isn't showing any life signs besides ours." Benji reported quietly to Aubrey. "I think there is some sort of interference, we should see Beckett's team and there's nothing."

"Since the air is good, lets save our O2 team." The Marines shut off their rebreathers and opened their visors.

The fireteam was approaching the bend in the hallway when Chloe held up a fist and everyone froze. She signaled the team that she heard movement ahead and rounded the corner quickly, firing off two short bursts as Aubrey closed in on her shoulder watching as two Gaks dropped to the ground. The ridged blue/black armor of the Gaks immediately began dissolving into puddles of dark goo, dissolving whatever was inside them as well. The Gaks were uniform in appearance, or at least the outer shell was. They were about seven feet tall and the trunks of their legs were thick but with three jointed sections. Their arms mirrored the leg structure giving them a slightly hunched appearance and they had four "fingers." The outer shell seemed to serve as armor and was a dark midnight blue bordering on black and shimmered in the light. No one had ever seen what a Gak looked like inside as they had some sort of self-destruct that broke their shells and weapons down into base elements upon being hit with weapons fire.

"Just once I'd like to see what's inside there." The redhead offered looking at the pile of goo on the floor in front of her. A yell from Stacie alerted them that the Gaks had appeared from a hidden door in the hallway behind them. Aubrey was a split second slow in reacting at the Gak laser fire and Chloe launched her lithe frame into the blonde, taking them both of their feet.

Stacie and Benji returned fire crouching down at the edge of the hallway. Aubrey landed with a thud expelling a breath as Chloe landed on top of her. Laser fire impacted where Aubrey's head was a moment before, leaving a dark mark on the wall. Aubrey rolled into a prone position and returned fire.

Several Gaks had fallen in the doorway, the mist rising from their dissolving bodies reflected the flashes of laser fire giving the gun battle a surreal quality. Benji lobbed an energy grenade that bounced into the doorway that the aliens had retreated back into. The Marines averted their eyes as a blinding flash and loud boom obliterated part of the doorway, blowing bits of alien onto the walls. Benji and Stacie advanced cautiously to check the hallway the Gaks had come from as Aubrey got to her feet.

Chloe was slow to move grunting as she got to her knees and paused head bowed in pain. Aubrey crouched down next to her, eyes widening in alarm as she saw the damage to the left shoulder area of the redhead's battle armor.

"Chlo, talk to me." Aubrey kept her voice calm even as her stomach clenched. Their battle armor was designed to take the kinetic energy of the blasts and dissipate it, but it couldn't completely survive a direct hit. Aubrey had been hit once before and it felt like a thousand pinpricks of electricity arcing through her body. The blonde could see Chloe's darkened skin tinged with red through the hole in her armor. After a moment Chloe raised her head grimacing and reached out, allowing Aubrey to help her stand.

"I'm okay, just stings a bit," the redhead huffed. Aubrey pulled her up by grasping the front of her armor and then pulled Chloe in behind her not liking how exposed they were. Aubrey glanced back at Chloe, her worried hazel eyes searching the pained blue of her friend's. Chloe steeled her gaze against the guilt she saw in Aubrey's and said "We need to keep moving."

Chloe pushed past Aubrey to take point again. Aubrey was about to argue, but decided against it as the radio in her helmet crackled to life and she pulled Chloe to a halt.

"Valkyrie this is Recon 2. Minimal resistance. No joy on the guests yet, over." Tom's voice broke through the static.

Aubrey frowned and replied. "Roger Recon 2, No joy on guests here, over."

"Check you in ten mikes Valkyrie, Recon 2 out."

Aubrey checked her weapon and gave the command to move out following close behind the redhead.

The team continued their methodical advance through the installation without major incident for the next twenty minutes. Benji marked off each branch of explored hallway with special luminescent paint. The lack of resistance or notable features set Aubrey's teeth on edge. If the aliens had went to all the trouble of such a large installation she wondered why it was so empty. The team had even searched for hidden doors with no luck. Each hallway looked the same as the last.

After the second check in with Tom's team yielded no new info Aubrey asked Benji to check the scanner again.

"Anything?"

"No." Benji looked almost apologetic, as if it was his fault the scanner wasn't working properly.

The blonde Captain looked ahead where Chloe was leaning against the corner of a hallway junction the stiff set of her shoulders giving away her pain but she was alert and watching, Aubrey could see the sweat dripping down the side of her best friend's face. Stacie was spaced a few yards behind them watching for movement on their six.

Calling out softly to Chloe, "Rider, go right," Aubrey set the team in motion again.

Chloe edged around the corner, snapping her rifle up and continued down the hallway followed by the rest of the team.

A muffled scream rang out and the sound of weapons discharging came from somewhere ahead of them and Chloe was off like a shot. Aubrey cursed and followed hearing the footfalls of Benji and Stacie behind her echoing off the bare walls. After a few minutes of running the team reached another junction sliding up against the wall with precision they could hear the sounds of a scuffle and human voices shouting.

Chloe snapped her head around the end of the wall taking in the situation at a glance before snapping back to look at her team. "Three hostiles, and our people. Watch your fire." With that Chloe rounded the corner causing Aubrey to curse under her breath again and follow.

It was a chaos of movement in front of the Marines. The area was apparently the detention center with small cells arranged on both sides. At the rear of the area it dead ended into another alcove that held a strange looking table that was angled off of the floor with indentations that held restraints. It was liberally coated with dried blood.

The cells were spaced on either side of a large room with the interior blocked from view. In the center of the room two Gaks were wrestling for control of their weapons with a raven haired woman and a brown haired man. Chloe recognized them from the briefing as being First Lieutenants Sophia "Jack" Daniels and Jesse "Rocky" Swanson. The captured pilots were dressed only in their thin dirty white t shirts and underwear, obvious signs of abuse littered their exposed skin.

A third Gak raised its oddly shaped weapon and pointed it into a cell but Chloe dropped that Gak with a well-placed shot before it could fire. The Gak fighting Jesse laid a vicious uppercut on him and a split second later was turning into goo from Aubrey's head shot.

Chloe couldn't get a clear shot on the Gak fighting the woman and launched herself at the alien with a battle cry. Her yell startled both the alien and the woman as the redhead crashed into the Gak's hard shell, firing several point blank shots into it as they crashed to the ground. The Gak started dissolving immediately and Chloe leapt up trying to put some distance between her and the foul smelling chemical reaction.

Stacie and Benji had taken up defensive positions, firing down the adjacent hallway as apparently reinforcements were on the way.

Aubrey had moved up to help Jesse stand. The brunette pilot was dazed from the earlier blow, blood leaking down the side of his face and leaned on her as he regained his balance.

Chloe turned to Sophia who was bent over with her hands on her knees attempting to catch her breath. The raven haired woman rasped out, "I owe you one Red." Chloe reached out a hand but Sophia waved her off. "Help Luke and Beca." Chloe immediately turned to search the remaining cells.

Chloe looked back into the cells behind her and let out a small cry. Blood and gore covered the walls of the two cells she could see. The occupants had been torn apart and what was left of them lay in pools of blood. She moved on to the next cell, a small figure with matted dark brown hair was curled in the corner clad in a torn t shirt caked with dried blood and black boy shorts. Chloe fell to her knees next to the woman gently cupping her head and pulling on her shoulder to turn her over. From behind her she heard Jesse sob out, "Beca? Is she…?"

Shakily Chloe pulled off one of her gloves and pressed shaking fingers to the pulse point in Beca's neck, stifling a cry of relief at feeling the thready pulse. The red head called over her shoulder, "She's alive."

A ripple of relief went through the others. Aubrey led Jesse over to Sophia, assessing them. "Can you two walk?" The two pilots nodded.

Benji had moved further into the detention area finding a man with close cropped blond hair laying on his side in the next cell. He crouched down, realizing it was Luke and breathed out a sigh of relief seeing the blond man's chest rising and falling.

Aubrey broke through the team's silence, "Benji, get the huggy ready. We'll put Beca and Luke on it. Chloe, give Sophia your sidearm." Aubrey handed her sidearm to Jesse. Sophia limped over to Chloe who was still kneeling neck to Beca's prone form, placing a comforting hand on the red head's shoulder before accepting the weapon.

Realizing the team was taking too long to move Aubrey snapped out, "NOW PEOPLE!"

Benji hurried to comply, dropping the pack he had been carrying and rummaged through, pulling out several thin metal rods that were linked by a cord and surrounded by a lightweight webbing. The Hover Gurney or huggy as the Marines called it was a lightweight battlefield stretcher. He pulled gently and they snapped into place, filling out a rectangular frame with the webbing in between. He then keyed a switch that was protruding slightly from one of the metal links causing the contraption to emit a small hum and float a few inches off of the floor.

While Benji was assembling the stretcher Chloe leaned in closer to Beca whispering softly, "Come on Becs, we're here now. Open your eyes for me." The petite pilot gave no indication that she had heard, lying motionless except for the small movements of her chest as she breathed. Chloe ran her ungloved fingers over Beca's brow attempting to reassure herself with the familiar touch.

Benji and Aubrey rolled Luke onto the huggy, being careful not to jostle him too much, then pulled it over next to Chloe and Beca. Chloe helped Aubrey lift Beca onto the stretcher next to Luke. Chloe carefully cradled the brunette's head and shoulders as Aubrey lifted her legs. Once Beca was safely on it, Aubrey hit a switch which raised it to waist level. Once it was there the redhead pulled away, removing her hand from behind Beca's neck. Her hand came away sticky and warm and Chloe froze looking at the darkness that coated her hand. Beca's blood.

"Beca. Oh god. Please be okay." The redhead whispered.

Aubrey hated seeing Chloe upset, but now was not the time for this. The blond Captain looked around, Sophia walked over to the huggy and dropped several sets of bloody dog tags on it. Jesse still seemed dazed where he stood on the other side of the huggy from Sophia. Stacie was darting glances at the group from her position at the hallway junction.

"OKAY!" Aubrey barked out getting everyone to focus on her. "Mind on the mission people. Swanson and Daniels stay close to the huggy. Rider back on point. Wizard, Angel you know the drill. Let's move."

Aubrey placed her hand on Chloe's good shoulder and they started retracing their steps back to the where they came in. The blonde keyed her mic to check in with Beckett's progress, wanting to let them know they could start back.

"Recon 2 this is Valkyrie, guests have arrived, over." Aubrey frowned when her transmission was met with just static.

Chloe spared a worried glance at Aubrey before continuing at a deliberate pace down the hallway. They were passing the section where Benji had blown up the Gaks.

"Recon 2 this is Valkyrie, over." Static is all that comes through until Jessica's voice breaks in.

"Valkyrie, this is Jackal. Recon 1 is reporting contact with Recon 2. Heavy fighting in their location. Over."

"Roger Jackal, we are en route with guests. ETA 10 mikes over." Aubrey glances back at the unmoving figures on the gurney.

Jessica's voice echoed thinly back over the comms, "Might want to make it quick Valkyrie. We have company."

Aubrey called out to her team, "Jackal says they have company. Lock and load Marines." Their steps quickened automatically. Benji helping keep Jesse upright as he padded barefoot down the hallway.

Chloe held up a fist stopping the group and then leaned around the edge of the last span of hallway between their group and the Badger waiting to take them home. Something niggled at the back of her mind. Aubrey placed her hand on her shoulder signaling she was ready to move when Chloe was.

Chloe nodded and Aubrey gave the order for the others to wait, understanding something was bothering the redhead and knowing better than to question Chloe's innate sixth sense. It had saved their asses more than once.

Benji took up the lead position at the corner covering the two Captains who were advancing down the hallway while Stacie continued to watch their six. Sophia was confused and whispered, "What's going on?"

Stacie looked over her shoulder, "They're just making sure."

"Sure about what? Shouldn't we be…" Sophia continued in confusion.

To everyone's surprise it was Benji who spoke up. "Lock it up, they know what they're doing." He turned back to cover his friends.

Halfway down the hallway the hair on the back of Chloe's neck stood and she pulled Aubrey down to the deck with her as laser fire erupted from doorways that appeared from what was a featureless wall 40 feet in front of them seconds before. Chloe and Aubrey were exposed laying prone in the hallway. Benji attempted to provide as much cover as he could but he could hear Stacie's rifle whirring and Sophia and Jesse were firing their pistols at something behind them as well.

Chloe yelped in surprise as an energy bolt hit two inches from her already damaged shoulder but she continued to return fire, grunting in satisfaction as another Gak started dissolving in the doorway.

Aubrey grabbed Chloe's ankle next to her head, "We have to move!" The blonde desperately tried to think of a way to get them both to cover. As she turned back, fully intending to drag Chloe by her ankles if necessary a wild yell echoed through the hallway.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" The yell was followed by two energy grenades rolling into the end of the hallway and toward the Gak's doorway.

"SHIT!" Aubrey was on her feet in a second, pulling Chloe up roughly as she pushed the redhead down the hallway away from the grenades.

The boom took them both off their feet and sent Aubrey crashing into Chloe's back before darkness edged out her vision.

* * *

Author's Note: Hey everyone. I feel kind of weird writing a note…I worry that it breaks the wall and takes you out of the story, but I wanted to say thank you for the reviews and follows. It is truly motivating to see them. Oh and I hope you are enjoying this so far. I am pretty far into the next update and struggled with trying to finish or breaking it apart since it was getting a little long for the chapters I have been doing. So decided to get this out and will keep working on the next part. So please let me know what you think and again thanks for your time.

This is un-Beta'd and I suck at editing my own stuff, so all errors are mine.

I think I had more stuff to say here, but um, ADD…and oh look…shiny!


	5. Chapter 5

Awareness returned with a sharp pain in her side, and the coppery taste of blood in her mouth. Aubrey opened groggy eyes to see Benji hovering anxiously over her. Pushing herself up on one elbow with a groan she spit the blood that had pooled in her mouth out onto the floor. The impact had caused her to bite her tongue. Looking over Aubrey saw Sophia hovering over Chloe's unmoving form and Aubrey's eyes widened in alarm.

"Chloe!" The blonde Captain struggled to sit up. Benji stopped her.

"Bree, she's okay." He turned to look while holding a steadying hand on Aubrey's shoulder. "She just got the wind knocked out of her."

Aubrey stood up slowly, gripping her side and realizing she was bleeding slightly from a wound on her hip. Sophia helped Chloe sit up who groaned still trying to catch her breath, "You're heavier than you look Posen." The sincere look in Chloe's blue eyes underscored the humor and she nodded her thanks.

The blonde met her gaze before rolling her eyes good naturedly, "Whatever, Beale you're still slow."

Stacie pushed forward towards Aubrey with the gurney in tow. Aubrey saw an unreadable look in the tall brunette's eyes but was prevented from asking any questions by Lily's shout from the end of the hallway. The uncharacteristic behavior from the slim woman startled them all into gathering themselves. Stacie called back smiling, "Whoa, Ghost no need to shout! We're coming."

Chloe squeezed Aubrey's forearm when she passed and muttered under her breath "That girl sure does like her explosives."

Aubrey grimaced and replied, "Remind me to thank her for saving our asses, right after I am done yelling at her for almost blowing us up."

The team made it back to the waiting Badger without further incident. Aubrey was still unable to raise Tom's team on the radio. Jackal was standing in the doorway leading to the Badger's cockpit.

"Aubrey, I'll keep trying to raise them. Bumper's team reported that they are returning with the civilians." Jackal disappeared back into the cockpit.

Aubrey continued to pace, holding a hand against the wound in her side.

Sophia and Jesse had slid down into the jump seats in relief. Jesse passed out almost immediately. Chloe knelt next to Beca, working on strapping the slight woman into one of the pull out bunks. Benji worked next to her helping secure Luke. Stacie was watching Aubrey pace from across the hold.

As soon as Chloe placed one of the straps across Beca, the slim woman started struggling. Panicked dark blue eyes opened and blinked rapidly in the glare of the overhead lights.

"Noooo, please." Her voice was weak and she attempted to push Chloe away. The redhead felt her heart skip at the sound of fear in Beca's voice.

Chloe kept her voice low and soothing, "Beca, it's me, Chloe." The redhead continued to murmur reassuringly, "You're safe Beca. You're safe." The older woman stroked her fingers along Beca's bruised jawline. Beca jerked her head away at the touch.

"No…not…real…"Beca's struggles were slowing as the darkness threatened to drag her back under.

"Becs, I swear it's me. You. Are. Safe." Emphasizing the last three words, Chloe brushed Beca's matted hair back from her forehead.

Suddenly Aubrey was hovering over both of them. "Mitchell, stop struggling and listen to Chloe."

Aubrey's firm tone seemed to snap Beca out of whatever nightmare she was in. Chloe indignantly pushed the blonde away with an incredulous, "Bree!" but turned when she heard Beca snort.

"Always knew I'd end up in Hell." Was all the battered woman managed before slipping back into unconsciousness. Aubrey wasn't sure whether to be flattered that her tactic worked or insulted at Beca's comment so instead she settled for arching an imperious eyebrow at Chloe.

Suddenly Stacie was at her side, "Right Posen, stop scaring the patient. How about sitting down before you fall down." The tall, dark haired woman steered Aubrey by her shoulders to a jump seat. Watching as Aubrey tried to hide a grimace at the pain flaring through her side. Stacie knelt in front of the blonde and started probing the injured area with Aubrey weakly trying to bat her hands away.

"Stacie, I'm fine." She huffed. Stacie arched an eyebrow before pulling on something embedded in the wound, causing Aubrey to hiss in pain.

It was Stacie's turn to arch an eyebrow, "You were saying?" Aubrey's hand had landed on Stacie's shoulder and she swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat and pressure in her center as the blonde's thoughts were taken back to the last time Stacie was kneeling before her. Stacie seemed to read Aubrey's thoughts and smiled knowingly up at her.

"Easy tiger." Stacie whispered so that only Aubrey could hear. "I'm just trying to help."

Jessica's voice over the internal speakers broke Aubrey out of her fog.

"Hey guys, Recon 2 is on their way back. They have wounded and are requesting assistance."

Aubrey moved to stand but Stacie held her in place with her hands on Aubrey's thighs earning an outraged glare from the blonde.

"Captain," Aubrey's eyebrows rose in surprise at the formal address from the brunette. "You and Rider are injured, Wizard and I can take this." Benji looked up and grabbed his gun from the rack already sliding his helmet back on. Aubrey moved to protest glancing at Chloe who was slowly getting to her feet, pain evident in every stiff movement.

The blonde shook off her lethargy and Stacie's hold, grunting as she tried to stand again, only to fall back into her seat as the dizziness from the pain and blood loss washed over her. Aubrey fought to hold onto her wits as blackness tinged the edges of her vision. She vaguely heard Stacie arguing with Chloe but it seemed like she was listening from under water. Fighting back against the darkness Aubrey pushed a hand into her wound using the pain to center herself.

Stacie was buckling on her helmet while staring angrily at Chloe, frustration evident in every movement. Chloe stepped in front of Aubrey and bent down, cupping a hand behind the blonde Captain's neck and forcing their eyes to meet.

"Bree, I'll go and take Jackal too."

The two Captain's held each other's gazes - an unspoken conversation happening between crystal blue and bright green eyes. Finally, Aubrey looked away nodding slightly and swallowed back her protest.

Chloe straightened and pushed past Stacie, "Not another word Angel."

With a last glance at Aubrey who was already losing the battle with consciousness the team dropped back down into the alien base.

After the team left, Aubrey drifted in and out of a hazy awareness. She was brought back to the present when someone fell heavily into the jumpseat next to her. Groggily she saw the members of Tom's team filing in, carrying the wounded deeper into the transport hold. They looked like they had been through Hell. The coppery scent of blood and the moans of the injured filled the hold, setting her teeth on edge. Her eyes searched frantically for her team breath catching in worry and aggravating her wound.

"We're fine." The exhausted voice of Chloe reached through her panic. The blonde turned slightly seeing the redhead with her eyes closed and head thrown back against the seat in exhaustion. Aubrey sighed in relief and mimicked the redheads pose, finally succumbing to her own exhaustion.


	6. Chapter 6

_0340 Zulu Time - ICVN Arcturus Medical Bay_

Lt. Col. Abernathy waited inside the large double doors to the Medical Bay watching as the wounded were brought in to the Triage area. White coated medical personnel scrambled frantically among the Marines laying on the beds. As they were tagged orderlies moved their beds. The XO watched a doctor shine a light into an underwear clad brunette man's eyes. The blood caked in his hair and on his face and next to him another med tech moved a bed carrying a slim woman through the set of double doors. Recognizing them as the rescued pilots she heaved an internal sigh of relief. At least their sacrifice was not in vain.

The sound of the bay doors opening behind her caught her attention and the XO watched as Aubrey was brought in on one of the hover gurneys and whisked into an alcove. A few moments later Stacie and Benji walked in, holding up a woozy Chloe between them. Her battle armor had been removed leaving her torn t-shirt and blackened skin visible. Stacie was being careful not to jostle the redhead any more than necessary. One of the medical personnel saw them and helped load Chloe onto a bed next to the one Aubrey was in. Benji and Stacie stood awkwardly in the middle of the intake area watching the chaos around them. The XO cleared her throat behind them.

"Angel, Wizard, report." Stacie and Benji straightened automatically as they turned to face their superior. Only short range comms were active during the mission so the XO was eager to hear details on the mission and why her Captains were injured.

Stacie spoke first, "Ma'am we recovered four of the pilots from the installation. Be-" Stacie caught herself using Beca's first name and continued, "Lt Mitchell, Lt Swanson, Captain Daniels and Captain Grey." Stacie paused a moment frowning.

"The rest were dead, Ma'am." Benji's soft voice added. The XO's face fell at the loss of life.

"What about Posen and Beale?"

Benji took up the conversation glancing quickly at Stacie, "Captain Posen took some shrapnel in the side and Captain Beale was hit by enemy fire."

The XO listened intently and held back on asking the questions at the tip of her tongue. Instead she fixed both of her Lieutenants with a fond gaze. "Good work Marines. Make sure Intel gets your vids logged. Go get cleaned up, we will debrief at 0630." Stacie looked like she was about to protest but Benji grabbed her elbow and dragged her out of the room with him.

Lt. Col. Abernathy looked on as Benji dragged Stacie out of the double doors. She waited a moment and then turned to walk over to where her injured Captains were. The outer triage area had quieted somewhat; most of the serious cases taken into the surgery area. A few nurses moved through the remaining beds updating clipboards and charts.

Aubrey was lying on her back unconscious with wisps of blonde hair that had broken free of her braid framing her face. A blood soaked bandage was haphazardly applied to her hip. The XO took solace in the steady rise and fall of her Captain's chest. On the bed next to Aubrey, Chloe was resting on her side, injured shoulder propped on a pillow and facing her best friend. Chloe was gazing sleepily at Aubrey when the XO entered her field of view. The redhead gave a little jump and the XO put a gentle hand on Chloe's leg to keep her from trying to sit up.

The XO winced in sympathy at the damage to Chloe's shoulder. The redhead's black t-shirt was torn away from her injury leaving only the collar intact. The skin on her shoulder was blackened and burnt leaving red streaks where blood had leaked from the blisters.

"How are you?"

"Uh, I-I'm okay. Stings a little." Chloe's voice cracked a bit with the effort to speak.

The XO squeezed Chloe's leg where her hand rested in reassurance before turning to look at Aubrey. Noticing the XO's concerned look at her friend Chloe spoke up.

"She's okay. They gave her some pain meds that knocked her out."

The XO looked back at Chloe, "What about you?"

Chloe grimaced, "They said the meds don't do well with energy weapon injuries or something."

Deciding to help take Chloe's mind off of the pain the XO changed topics. "I need to get ready for the debriefing. Angel and Wizard told me we saved some of your friends. Anything you want to talk about before I go?"

Chloe's brows drew together and she looked away from the XO's gaze, suddenly skittish about making eye contact. Noting Chloe's hesitation she moved closer gently squeezing the young woman's hand.

"What is it?"

Chloe shifted her gaze back to the XO searching her face and frowning slightly before reaching some internal decision. "It was too easy."

Now it was the XO's turn to frown and she deliberately looked at the carnage around them and Chloe's wound before meeting the pilot's worried gaze.

Finally the XO asked, "Too easy?" repeating the redhead's words back to her.

Chloe shrugged, wincing at the pain that radiated down her arm from the movement. "Something was off. I don't – I don't know how to explain it." Chloe paused huffing out a frustrated breath before continuing, "It just didn't feel right."

Then warming up to her line of thought she gathered a bit more energy for the discussion. "I mean, we have lost almost every engagement and now all of a sudden we walk into a base and come back out with survivors?"

Lt Col Abernathy nodded slowly, "Well you've been right before." She paused then carried on, "The CO and I will review the vids."

At the mention of the vids Chloe struggled to get her arm to obey, moving jerkily towards her pocket and breathing out a grunt at the effort. The XO patted her leg. "Which pocket?"

Chloe all but groaned, "Cargo pocket. I grabbed mine and Aubrey's before they took our gear." Gail reached into the younger woman's cargo pocket drawing out two small plastic squares.

The XO smiled, "I'll get these logged. You get some rest okay?" At the mention of rest Chloe felt the events of the day wash over her bringing with it a new wave of fatigue and pain. The pilot tried to blink back the lethargy that was settling in but it was a losing battle. Chloe watched through half open eyes as the XO gave a final squeeze to her hand and then bent down whispering something into Aubrey's ear.

Chloe was asleep before the XO cleared the bay doors.

_0717 Zulu Time ICVN Arcturus Medical Bay_

Aubrey woke to a blinding light being shined in her eye. Flailing a little she grabbed the arm holding the light pushing a dour faced Korean woman away from her.

"Captain Posen," the woman huffed in annoyance, "please lie still." The doctor leaned in again raising the light. Ignoring the doctor, Aubrey pushed herself up in the bed, trying to shake off the remaining lethargy from whatever painkillers they had dosed her with and pushed the doctor away again. The pilot felt a slight twinge in her side and pulled back the gown that someone had replaced her uniform with looking at the mended skin where her wound had been.

The doctor let out another annoyed breath and marked something on the chart in her hand with angry movements. Waiting for Aubrey to look at her again she pointed her pen at a long sliver of dark metal that was at least six inches in length was sitting inside a quarantine bag on a tray next to the bed.

"That was pulled out of your side. Lucky for you we were able to repair the damage to your kidney." The doctor paused silently assessing Aubrey. "I'll have one of your Squadron come escort you back to your quarters. Drink plenty of liquids."

Aubrey reached out stopping the doctor from leaving, "Kimmy-jin where's Chloe? Is she alright?" Aubrey looked around realizing she was no longer in the main bay but back in the surgery wing with a curtain preventing her from seeing who else was in the room. "What about Beca?"

Something flickered across Kimmy-jin's guarded features. She waved a hand dismissing Aubrey. "Your hard-headed friend is fine. She is resting." Kimmy-jin pulled back the curtain separating Aubrey's section with the one next to it revealing a sleeping Chloe. Her shoulder was covered in a clear gel and already showed signs of healing. The redhead twitched slightly in her sleep.

Aubrey breathed a sigh of relief at seeing Chloe.

"We are going to keep her for observation. We need to run more tests to see what we can learn about their weapons and the effects on the central nervous system." Kimmy-jin's unusual excitement showed in her speech and it was Aubrey's turn to be annoyed.

"We aren't lab rats!"

Unfazed by Aubrey's outburst Kimmy-jin immediately responded in her monotone, "Then stop getting injured by alien technology."

"What? Just… never mind." Aubrey dropped her head back on the pillow only to shoot back up when a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the bay. Adrenaline rushed through her system at the primal scream and the blonde pushed upright sliding off of the hospital bed. Her knees immediately buckled, body desperately trying to compensate for the disorientation from the anesthetic. Kimmy-jin made an aborted gesture to help Aubrey stand, but thought better of it at the last second pulling back. Clenching her jaw the blonde Marine willed her body to obey, pushing down the roiling nausea that threatened to erupt and threw back the green hospital curtain.

Aubrey took off towards the sounds of a struggle and burst through the doors of a surgery suite and halted in surprise at what she saw. A large black haired man wearing non-descript blue coveralls and a lab coated woman that Aubrey recognized as Dr. Braun were attempting to strap down a furiously struggling Beca. Another doctor lay against the wall clutching his face, blood dripping through his fingers. Yet another large man wearing coveralls was grappling with Sophia.

Aubrey hesitated in the doorway, rigid training screaming at her not to interfere. Sophia broke free from her assailant and rushed towards the man holding Beca.

"Hey! Stop!" Sophia yelled while grabbing the larger black haired by his collar and sending him sprawling away from Beca. The other man caught up to Sophia throwing a punch that she ducked and drove a lowered shoulder into his midsection taking them both to the floor. Beca's legs were now free leaving only the slim Dr. Braun to try and hold down the panicked woman. Beca broke free slamming a fist into Dr. Braun dropping the doctor like a sack of potatoes. The slim woman hurled herself off of the bed and curled into the corner clutching her knees to her chest.

The man Sophia had sent sprawling returned to his feet sparing a glance at a frozen Aubrey before going to his buddy's aid. He grabbed Sophia from behind putting her in a choke hold and pulling her roughly off her feet and against his chest.

Aubrey shook off her momentary paralysis. Something about the men in coveralls did not sit well with her.

"EVERYBODY STOP!" The blonde yelled while upending a tray of surgical instruments for effect. Her commanding voice combined with the loud crash of implements had the desired effect and everyone froze. When one of the men looked like he was about to object Aubrey fixed him with her best glare mildly pleased when it worked.

A little more calmly but still with steel lacing her tone she continued, "Just stop." Looking at the man still holding Sophia she bit out, "Let her go." Not waiting to see if he obeyed she approached Beca slowly.

"Beca, its Aubrey." When the slim brunette didn't meet her eyes and continued to crouch in the corner Aubrey crouched down keeping herself between Beca and the men. Behind her she heard Sophia huff and then cough having been released from the choke hold.

"Beca." Aubrey frowned, Beca was staring into the wall, not giving any indication that she even heard what she was saying. Tentatively the Captain reached out placing a hand lightly on Beca's elbow where it was wrapped around her knee. Beca flinched but didn't pull away completely. She was mumbling to herself with her eyes closed. "Beca, it's me, Aubrey." After saying this the blonde frowned to herself thinking that she was the last person Beca wanted to see.

_Pressure. Pain. The never ending blackness. Beca was drifting in that blackness struggling to stay under. This blackness was safe, no questions here, no sharp searing pain. Sometimes she saw visions in the darkness, her mother singing but that would always end in the vision morphing into yelling and the face of her father. But then she would be there, blue eyes so bright Beca knew they couldn't be real. Blue eyes and a flash of red hair and always that smile that would beckon her back from the edge of the oblivion she craved. There was always her voice that told her to fight, that fought with the one who wanted her secrets._

_Beca felt rough hands pulling and pushing her, she wanted to die just like all of the other times. But if she was going to die, she would do so on her terms. Fear and adrenaline fed her a strength she thought she no longer possessed and she lashed out, hearing a crack through the roar of blood rushing in her ears and felt the soft crunch under her fist. This time she welcomed the pain that radiated from her hand. She drifted again. But where had only been darkness, now the light was seeping in. And a voice. A familiar voice. Blinding sterile light replaced the darkness and she opened her eyes to Aubrey?_

The blonde Marine knelt, keeping still as she watched Beca's eyes clear and the recognition flare through them. The brunette still looked as if she would bolt at any moment and flicked a glance down to where Aubrey's hand rested on her knee before rapidly looking around at the chaos in the room.

One of the men behind her said angrily, "This is bullshit. Who do you think…hrkk." Sophia turned the tables and had him in a chokehold. Beca shrank back into the corner.

"W-what's going on? Where am I? Who are these people?" she stammered out.

Aubrey turned to Sophia and the man behind her. "Stop it! You are scaring her!"

Beca immediately snarked back. "I'm not scared." Aubrey turned back to Beca fixing her with an amused glance, even now the brunette had an innate need to argue with her and despite everything she could not help her amusement.

Beca almost smiled but then shrank back, afraid to trust this was real. Aubrey sensed her shift in mood. Talking in a low soothing voice she answered the brunette's questions.

"Beca, you are on the ICVN Arcturus. We were sent in to rescue your squadron."

Beca frowned, "The Arcturus? But that's…where are we?"

Aubrey replied gently squeezing the hand on Beca's knee gently. "We are near the Capella system, heading back to the Pollux system I believe."

"But that's clear on the other side of…how long were we gone? Where are the others?" Beca was becoming agitated again and she looked past Aubrey to where Sophia was standing.

The black haired man pushed forward. "Enough!" he barked out. "Further contact is prohibited. They need to be debriefed properly."

Sophia pulled away from the man at her side, "No way we are going anywhere with you guys."

Aubrey stood up placing herself between Beca and the others. "Debriefed? Under whose authority?"

The other man in coveralls sneered, "You don't have clearance to know who we are. If you value your career you will stand down, _Captain_." He used her rank like a swear word. Aubrey blanched, the threat striking a nerve with the Marine.

Sophia suddenly looked unsure, "No. I don't like this."

The brown haired man next to her turned and said, "This is protocol Captain. You will come with us."

Another voice rang out, "Where are your authorization papers?"

Aubrey turned a surprised gaze to the redhead standing in the doorway of the suite. She heard Beca breathe out quietly behind her, "_Chloe_."

Kimmy-jin was standing next to Chloe clutching her clipboard and frowning so hard Aubrey thought her face had to hurt.

"Papers? What the fuck do you think this is a democracy?" The black haired man was clearly angry and at the end of his patience. He turned to Kimmy-jin, "Dr. Kwon, I suggest you get your patients under control." Kimmy-jin only glared in return.

Sophia advances on him, "We are ISF Marines. We don't answer to civilians. Show us your authorization papers or get lost." The black haired man just shook his head.

"Fine, the hard way it is." He pulled out a stunner and leveled it at Sophia. The small weapon letting out a high pitched whine as it charged. Sophia lunged at him desperately hoping to get to him before he could charge it fully, but he fired dropping the woman on the ground with a flash. Chloe shouted a warning to Aubrey. The other man had pulled his weapon and aimed it at the blonde firing before she could move. The blonde was unconscious before she hit the floor. The last thing she saw was Beca's horrified expression.


	7. Chapter 7

"Arrggghhhhh." Groaning, Aubrey felt her awareness returning with the sharp sense of pins and needles seemingly everywhere.

"Oh joy, she is awake." The less than pleased voice of Kimmy-jin cut through Aubrey's fogginess. She opened her eyes in time to see Kiimy-jin's back as the woman left her side pushing through the curtain at the end of her hospital bed.

Aubrey struggled to sit up a little, feeling sore and as if her limbs were still half asleep and on fire at the same time. She remembered now why she hated stunners so much.

"I'd pretend to be unconscious if I was you." Aubrey turned her head to see Chloe in the bed next to her, the adjoining curtain pushed back. The redhead sported a new black eye and was sitting up with her uninjured arm loosely folded across her stomach. She smiled thinly back at Aubrey.

"What? Wh…" Aubrey struggled to form words but was cut off when a very angry Lt. Col. Abernathy stalked into the space. Suddenly Aubrey wished she had taken Chloe's advice. The Lt. Col. Stopped at the foot of their beds, hands on her hips anger radiating off of her in waves. After a few long seconds of glaring she began pacing agitatedly in the small space, mumbling to herself and pushing a hand angrily through her hair dislodging even more of it from her bun. She looked like she had not slept in a week. Aubrey wondered vaguely how long she had been unconscious.

"Of all the hare-brained…court-martial…fist fights!" Finally the older woman stopped mumbling and stilled, fixing them both with a glare so heated Aubrey wanted to sink into the bed. She caught Chloe tensing out of the corner of her eye.

"What in the name of all that is holy possessed the two of you to get into a fist fight with the doctors?!"

Aubrey sat up a little straighter in shock. "Ma'am we didn't hit any doctors!" She protested.

Next to her Chloe spoke up. "I'm sorry Ma'am." A sheepish look crossing her features.

Aubrey whirled on her friend mouth dropping open in surprise. "Chloe?"

Gail cut them both off, "Sorry? SORRY! I should bust you both back to midshipmen!" Aubrey was frozen realizing that after she had passed out Chloe must have continued the fight. Chloe rushed to defend herself.

"They shot Sophia and Aubrey! They were trying to take Beca away." Chloe was almost frantic trying to get the XO to understand. They weren't doctors!"

The XO narrowed her gaze at the redhead, "So Dr. Braun has two black eyes and split lip because?" She trailed off.

Chloe defended herself in a small voice, "Well one was from Beca."

Aubrey couldn't help herself asking her friend incredulously, "You punched Dr. Braun?" Chloe shot an annoyed glance at her friend.

"She punched a lot of people." Kimmy-jin piped up from behind the XO, shrugging when everyone turned to glare at her.

The XO turned back to her officers, pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers, desperately trying to will her headache away. Aubrey sensing her career might be over rushed to explain.

"Ma'am, please. We can explain."

The XO looked at her in disbelief. Then waved a hand as if to say, please continue.

Aubrey frantically continued, "We were here. Chloe was asleep and um, I heard someone scream." The blonde gripped the bed sheet twisting it as she recounted the story. "I went to investigate and found Beca and Sophia struggling with two men in coveralls." Aubrey waited a beat, watching the XO raise her eyebrows at this new information.

"Men in coveralls?" She questioned looking at her officers and back at Kimmy-jin.

Aubrey hurried on, "Yes, blue coveralls, no insignia. I asked them who they were and to show their papers but they wouldn't answer us." Aubrey locked eyes with the XO, "I didn't like the situation Ma'am. Neither did Sophia – Captain Daniels." Aubrey looked to Chloe, "Something about them seemed off. They were trying to restrain Lt. Mitchell who was fighting them too. She punched Dr. Braun and pushed herself into the corner. One of the men pulled a stunner and that was the last thing I remember."

The XO just shook her head in disbelief. Chloe sensing a chance to hopefully get the XO on her side piped up, "They shot both Captain Posen and Captain Daniels with the stunners. I'm sorry ma'am but I reacted. I wanted to protect them, so I punched one of the men before the stunner could recharge and then Dr. Braun approached with a large needle." Chloe shrugged as if ask if anyone could blame her for punching the doctor when faced with a needle.

The XO turned to Kimmy-jin. "Who were these men? Why wasn't I informed that they were trying to move them?"

Kimmy-jin blinked in surprise at being addressed, "I am not sure ma'am. Lt Mitchell was not my patient."

The XO let her annoyance creep back into her tone. "Well where are Lt Mitchell and Captain Daniels now?"

The doctor shrank back a bit, "I am not sure ma'am." Then gaining confidence she continued, "Captain Posen and Beale are my patients and needed attention."

The XO turned back to the two Captains pointing a finger at them, "This conversation is not over. Under no circumstances are you to leave those beds until your escort gets here. Am I making myself clear?"

Both Aubrey and Chloe answered back, "Crystal, ma'am."

The XO turned back to Kimmy-jin, "Where is Dr. Braun?" The young doctor just pointed to the surgery suites. Fixing her Captains with one final glare the XO set off in search of answers. Kimmy-jin closed the curtain and scurried off.

Aubrey waited a beat to make sure she was gone before turning to Chloe, "What the hell Chloe? You punched Dr. Braun?"

Chloe huffed out, "She had a needle Bree. A big one."

Aubrey shook her head noticing Chloe's bandaged hand. "What happened after that?"

Chloe looked at her sheepishly, "I punched the big guy and I think his friend sucker punched me after I hit Dr. Braun. Everything is kind of fuzzy after that. I think they sedated me. Next thing I know I'm here with you."

Aubrey dropped her head back on her pillow laughing to herself softly. Chloe looked over at her friend as if she was losing her mind.

"What's so funny?"

Aubrey waved a hand, "This. Beca isn't even trying and still manages to cause trouble. I mean you punched a _doctor_ Chloe!" Aubrey nodded at Chloe's hand. Sobering Aubrey sat up again. "If I get court-martialed for this, I am so taking her out." Aubrey was interrupted from leveling any more threats by the appearance of Stacie and Cynthia Rose.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Stacie shot a concerned glance noticing Chloe's black eye and bandaged hand and the way Aubrey sat stiffly against the headboard.

Chloe waved away the brunette's concern, "Long story Stace. What are you guys doing here?"

Stacie looked like she might push for answers but sighed instead. "Apparently you need an escort to your stateroom? The XO told us to come get you guys. She sounded really pissed."

Aubrey groaned while Chloe grimaced. Stacie smiled cheekily at them both. "Oh and that scary doctor said you guys were violent or something."

Aubrey just sighed.

Cynthia Rose wasn't so easily deterred. "What did you guys do? Should we be armed? Wait, was it the Jell-o?"

"Shut up." The two women mumbled in unison as they got to their feet. Both looked a little wobbly after laying down for so long. Stacie frowned.

"Seriously guys, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little tired." Chloe smiled up at the brunette in reassurance.

"Nice shiner Red." Cynthia Rose offered.

"Yeah well you should see the other guys," Chloe huffed out.

Aubrey walked towards Stacie gingerly, still feeling the remnants of the pins and needles from the stunner blast. Stacie took her arm, helping to steady her. Normally the blonde would shrug off the help, but was too tired to protest. Stacie winked back at Chloe as Cynthia Rose moved to the redhead's side offering a steadying hand.

"Alright Posen, let's get you into bed." Stacie grinned at her own innuendo as Aubrey just grunted in response. Cynthia Rose snickered behind the two.

* * *

The XO was frustrated. Dr. Braun had been less than forthcoming about the whereabouts of the rescued pilots. Not that the XO blamed her. The doctor's black eyes and split lip making her unwilling to be accommodating even in the slightest. The Doctor had spent several minutes expressing her displeasure about her officer's barbarism through a stuffy broken nose. Gail was angry at her officers for their actions, but she trusted their instincts and now the whole situation left her more than a little unsettled. She would discuss their methods with them later, but now she wanted someone to tell her where the missing pilots were. They were Marines and she felt responsible for them. Which is why she was standing outside the Arcturus' Commanding Officer's quarters more than likely on her way to getting her ass chewed out. Knocking authoritatively she waited a brief moment before hearing the Admiral call out, "Come in."

Lt. Col. Abernathy walked briskly inside the large cabin. The outer room was complete with a briefing table and office area. At the center of the office area was a large cherry desk. The dark wood on the desk was ancient but well maintained. Admiral Washington was sitting behind the desk and he waited patiently as the XO walked in and presented herself. The Admiral was a well-built dark skinned man. His crew cut was gray at the temples giving him a distinguished air. The medals on his khaki uniform attested to his long and successful career. He motioned for her to take a seat at one of the leather bound chairs in front of the weathered desk.

"Lt. Col. Abernathy." Admiral Washington paused a moment then leaned forward. "Am I to understand that it was your Marines involved in a fistfight in the Med Bay?" He thumbed through a report on his desk. "Captain Posen and Captain Beale? General Posen's daughter in a fistfight with a doctor. Care to explain?" The older man sat back in his chair, steepling his fingers while he waited for the XO to speak.

"Sir, I realize the circumstances…"

"Please Colonel, save me the long winded speech and just level with me. I'm not getting any younger." The Admiral quirked a half smile and sat back.

The XO let out a breath and continued, "Sir, my Marines responded to what they perceived as a threat. There were men in the unit attempting to forcibly restrain two of the pilots we rescued and they, the pilots we rescued were calling for help."

"Men? What men?" The Admiral focused intently now, concern edging his features.

"Sir, the men refused to identify themselves when asked to do so by Captain Posen. They were wearing blue coveralls without any identifying rank or insignia." The XO paused taking another breath and locked eyes with the Admiral. "Sir, they just came back from a mission. They were injured and had just rescued the Marines they were trying to protect. The situation got out of hand, I admit. But I have to say I am concerned now too. No one can tell me where the four pilots are that we rescued sir. Which is why I came here."

Admiral Washington stayed silent for a minute, deep in thought. Finally he leaned forward again. "Very well Colonel. I will handle this. I trust you will talk to your officers about their actions? I won't have officers brawling on my ship."

The XO knit her brows in confusion, "Of course sir, but what about…"

The Admiral cut her off with a wave of his hand. "I will take care of that Gail. You make sure your officers stay healthy for a bit. I'd hate for them to need any treatment involving needles anytime soon."

Surprised the Admiral even knew her first name Gail asked for one last thing, "Sir, if we could not inform General Posen, Captain Posen did try to de-escalate the situation." The Admiral raised a thick eyebrow.

"It is okay Colonel, I wouldn't want to waste our Quantum Communication resources for this."

Realizing she had overstayed her welcome, Gail stood up. "Thank you sir."

"Dismissed."

The XO closed the door behind her but not before seeing the Admiral pick up the comm unit on his desk. Satisfied for the moment that she had done everything she could about the missing Marines, she set off to deal with her own troublemakers.


	8. Chapter 8

_ICVN Arcturus The next morning_

Cynthia Rose almost sprinted through the corridor outside of the XO's stateroom, she could hear the yelling even through the heavy door and did not want to risk lingering. Rounding the corner into the next corridor she stopped abruptly. Stacie, Jessica and the rest of the group were huddled around the corner obviously listening to the yelling that could still clearly be heard.

Cynthia Rose asked incredulously, "Guys, what are you doing?"

Jessica placed her hands on her hips, "What does it look like we are doing?"

"Shhhh, listen." Ashley hissed out, momentarily shushing the group as the XO continued to get her point across loudly.

"How long have they been in there?" Cynthia Rose asked.

Stacie looked pensive, "At least thirty minutes." A string of curse words could be heard.

Denise breathed out, "I didn't know the XO even knew that many swear words."

Starting to worry more about the two Captains, Cynthia Rose asked, "Should we, I dunno interrupt them?"

Jessica looked at her like she had grown an extra set of eyes, "Are you nuts? If the XO didn't kill us Aubrey would." The group continued plotting not hearing the sound of the door opening over their not so quiet whispers.

Chloe and Aubrey walked out, closing the door carefully behind them. Aubrey's posture was rigid and both women were a bit pale. Chloe began haltingly, "Bree, I'm sorry."

But Aubrey waved her off. "Not now Chloe. Let's just go."

When they rounded the corner the found Cynthia Rose and the others arguing in whispers, "I'm just saying that if we had a diversion…"

"No way dude, I'm too pretty to clean the latrines." Stacie groused.

Aubrey cleared her throat causing the other women to jump in alarm. Sheepish faces looked back at them.

"Oh hey Aubrey. Hey Chloe." Stacie leaned against the corridor wall acting like she belonged there.

Aubrey stood stiffly lips pursed but refrained from commenting. Chloe raised an auburn eyebrow, "What are you guys doing here?"

The women looked at each other struggling to come up with an alibi. Finally Cynthia Rose shrugged, "We were just worried."

Jessica pushed forward, "Yeah the XO was really mad. Are you guys okay?"

Chloe and Aubrey shared an embarrassed look and Aubrey replied stiffly, "We are fine." Aubrey then turned to Chloe, "Come on we don't want to be late."

Denise furrowed her brows, "Late for what?"

Chloe grimaced, "Heavy G training." At the mention of the grueling gravity training everyone groaned.

Stacie sighed, "Oh man that is harsh. What time are we supposed to be there?"

Aubrey and Chloe had started down the corridor, Aubrey called over her shoulder, "Not you guys, just us."

Ashley spoke next "What? Didn't you guys just get back from medical?"

Chloe and Aubrey stopped and Chloe replied, "We were released back to full duty status."

Cynthia Rose groused, "Well yeah because you punched a doctor Red."

Jessica looked incredulously at Aubrey, "She can't be serious – Aubrey you're still limping for fuck's sake."

Chloe looked exasperated, "She has a doctor coming to monitor the training."

"Hopefully not the one you belted." Cynthia Rose joked weakly.

Aubrey started off again, "Come on we can't be late."

After the two had exited the corridor, Jessica was the first to speak. "We can't let them do it alone guys."

Cynthia Rose asked in surprise, "What? You want to volunteer for Heavy G training?"

Ashley said, "That's sadistic."

"No hear her out." Stacie said, "We're a team."

Cynthia Rose laughed, "You just want in Posen's pants there Angel."

Jessica thought a moment and then offered, "No guys Stacie's right. Think about it, if it was us, Aubrey and Chloe would be right there with us. With all of us there maybe she'll go easier on them."

Cynthia Rose sighed, "Right, I'll go get the boys."

Denise frowned, "I'll get Lily."

_15 Minutes Later – Deck 14 Gravity Gym_

Chloe and Aubrey entered the intake area to the Gravity Gym. There were lockers and an elaborate control panel near the door. Warning signs about the potential for fluctuations in gravity hung on the walls. Next to the door was a sign listing the training competencies required before even entering the room.

The two Captains were standing by the door making the final adjustments to their equipment. Aubrey pulled the strap tight on the side of Chloe's battle gear, then patted the redhead's side signaling she was done. Chloe handed Aubrey the helmet she had been holding for her and turned to program the settings on the gym control board.

Chloe frowned at the tremor in her hand and concentrated a moment, willing it away before programing the parameters the XO had given her. While she was entering the commands the rest of their squadron started filing in. They were kitted out in full gear, tightening straps and pulling pieces on in their rush to get there. Silently they formed up into two ranks. Both Aubrey and Chloe stood frozen in surprise for a moment before Aubrey approached their teammates.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Aubrey demanded not sure how to deal with their sudden appearance and what it meant.

Donald pushed forward smiling. "Reporting for Heavy G Training Valkyrie." Nods and murmurs of agreement swept through the squadron.

Bumper managed to ruin the moment, "I'm just here in the hopes that you and Beale pass out Posen."

Chloe moved up next to where Aubrey was standing glaring at Bumper. "Thanks guys, but you don't have – "

"Too late…" Cynthia Rose mumbled under her breath as the XO entered the space and stopped in surprise at seeing the rest of the squadron standing in formation. Gail recovered quickly moving to stand in front of the squadron as Aubrey and Chloe hustled to take their places in the formation.

The XO was wearing full battle gear and managed to look angry still, though she was inwardly very pleased with their show of solidarity. But she wanted to make sure this wasn't just for show. Gail schooled her features into a grim mask and paced slowly in front of the line, inspecting their gear. She stopped in front of Jessica and barked out, "Jackal, why are you here?"

"Reporting for Heavy G training ma'am!" The young Lieutenant gazed firmly ahead.

The XO advanced on Chloe. "So Beale, this was your idea? Get your friends to help you take one for the team?" Chloe's brows knit in confusion, surprisingly it was Donald who answered for her.

"No ma'am. Valkyrie and Rider didn't ask. We insisted ma'am."

The XO smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "Really? Did you think if you all showed up I'd go easier on all of you?"

"Ma'am, no ma'am!" The squadron answered as one, used to this line of questioning from their basic training. Inwardly Gail smiled to herself again, though outwardly she remained stoic. After she had reviewed everyone's vid logs from the mission she had lingering concerns about her squadron's ability to be objective. They had all been sloppy at some point in the mission, the kind of sloppy that could easily get them killed.

Their squadron had been going non-stop, and honestly she was surprised it had taken this long for things to start to slide. The XO knew that they had to be exhausted with the high mission tempo for the past few months. They hadn't really had down time in over a year, going from one mission to the next. The loss of Kaz and Lion was still fresh on everyone's minds as well.

Gail had planned on dealing with her squadron and recalibrating them after dealing with Aubrey and Chloe. She knew a lecture was not enough since the Admiral expected her to handle this. Now though, with everyone here, this was a great opportunity to remind them that they were a team and force them to rely on each other. Rebuild some of the bonds that had frayed and get them back on track. But first she had to break them down before she built them back up. Steeling herself she jumped into dishing out some tough love.

"Well, I am glad you are all here. The CO and I reviewed the recent mission logs and we were not pleased. The last mission was sloppy people. Very sloppy."

She paced and stood in front of Stacie, "I have Marines questioning orders." Stacie looked down refusing to meet her eyes.

"I have Marines reacting emotionally and taking unnecessary risks." She stopped in front of Chloe for this, Chloe's cheeks turned pink with shame making her black eye stand out even more prominently.

"I have Marines exercising poor judgment." Here she stood in front of Bumper and his eyes skittered away refusing to meet hers.

Finally she stopped in from of Aubrey whose jaw was clenched so tight the XO almost expected to hear a tooth crack. Aubrey locked eyes with the XO as the older woman ground out, "And I have Marines acting like they are alone in this."

The XO paused a moment letting this sink in, feeling their jovial mood dissipate. She changed tack, easing up and reminding them why they were here.

"I know you are tired. I know that we have asked more from you than anyone should. I know you care about each other. That you are brothers and sisters. But you are Marines first. The way to protect your brother is to trust your training. The way to protect your sister is to execute your orders like Marines." Gail paused waiting again for her words to sink in. "Am I making myself clear?"

A resounding shout of "Crystal, ma'am!" rang out.

"Well today is the day I remind you what it takes to be a Marine. Your job is to keep up with me. So back to basics people. We will be running Alpha Two through Alpha Seven training scenarios in three Gs today." She allowed herself a small smile at hearing their surprised intake of breath. The training scenarios she outlined were grueling by themselves. At three times Earth Standard Gravity they were definitely going to remember this, and not fondly.

"Your job will be to keep up with me. Since you all showed up together, if you ALL make it through Scenario Five, maybe I'll lower the gravity for the last two." With one final look at her people she barked out, "Alright Marines. Impress me!"

_Later that night – JO Jungle_

Fat Amy came trouncing through the door without knocking. She stopped cold upon seeing the pilots sprawled out in various positions across their bunks. Most had ice on their knees.

"Bloody hell, what happened to you lot?" She was answered with a series of low groans.

"The XO tried to kill us." Cynthia Rose finally offered as if the very effort to speak hurt.

Ashley agreed, "She can't be human." She looked over at Fat Amy, "You'd tell us if she was a cyborg right?"

Fat Amy raised her eyebrows, "Why'd she want to kill you? What did you do?"

Stacie groaned, "It wasn't us really, she wanted to punish Aubrey and Chloe for the fight in the Med Bay."

"I thought they weren't going to make it honestly." Ashley adjusted the ice on her knees.

"That's harsh, almost as harsh as that one time my Uncle left my cousin in the Outback to find his way back home. He befriended some dingoes so it worked out okay." Fat Amy offered.

Lily mumbled something inaudible and Denise translated, "She had that scary doctor Kimmy-jin monitoring the training from the observation deck."

Stacie was laying with her arm flung over her eyes and both knees iced, "That makes me feel better knowing someone would be there to record our time of death."

Fat Amy grinned at them, "See this is why I'm not a Marine, too much vertical running."

"She was teaching us all a lesson, not just Aubrey and Chloe." Jessica countered.

Amy was unimpressed, "What that cardio sucks?"

"No, that we're a team."

Amy laughed, "What she couldn't just put that on a slogan on the wall?"

Denise groaned, "We're Marines, doesn't really work that way."

Cynthia Rose looked around, "Speaking of team, did anyone check on Chloe or Aubrey? They were barely standing at the end."

Jessica shrugged, "I asked them to come here after they were finished getting checked out by Dr. Kwon, but I think they felt pretty bad about today."

Ashley frowned, "You heard the XO, today wasn't totally on them. We all had this coming."

Stacie removed her arm and sat up on her elbows grimacing at the pull in her abdomen, "Yeah but you know them. They are probably blaming themselves." Stacie thought for a moment, "Especially with us all but carrying them through the last scenario."

Jessica frowned, "Yeah but they were still banged up from the mission. I saw them when they got on the Transport; that was not pretty."

Cynthia Rose nodded, "Plus, I think that was what the XO was going for, you know, forcing them to rely on us. That is why she kept sending them up the climbing wall alone with the gear."

Denise snickered, "Plus Donald had to drag Bumper along way before Aubrey and Chloe slowed down and he wasn't doing half the reps that they were."

Jess smiled, "The look on Aubrey's face when Benji threw her over his shoulder for the last hill drill was priceless though."

Fat Amy looked surprised, "The scrawny weird one?"

Cynthia Rose nodded, "Oh yeah, Wizard's stronger than he looks. And he's not weird," she defended, "just misunderstood."

Stacie looked around at the women, "Jess you and Lily should go get them."

Jessica groaned "Why us?" and Lily mumbled something in response.

Ashley laughed, "Because you are the only two that are not dying and you do Heavy G training for fun."

Fat Amy laughed, "You are twisted, twisted people."

Jess groaned, standing slowly, "Come on Lily, let's go make sure they aren't dead."


	9. Chapter 9

_XO's Stateroom – That night_

The CO walked into the room and grinned when he saw the XO with her legs propped up on her desk, bags of ice balanced on both knees.

"John when did I get old?"

"Well Gail, you just whipped up on a bunch of well-trained twenty something's and from what I heard walking by their staterooms, you are in better shape than they are."

"Remind me of that when I can't walk tomorrow."

John smiled, "Well Posen and Beale hung in there."

Gail sighed, "I know, I thought I was going to have to call it before they really did pass out."

"No one calls a timeout in combat."

"I know, I'm worried that I pushed them too far though." Gail fiddled with the hem on her workout shorts.

John thought for a moment, "We both agreed that this was warranted though. Everyone is still trying to figure out where they stand now that Kaz and Lion are gone." Gail gave a slight nod and sighed still looking pensive.

A brisk knock cut off whatever John was going to offer next.

He looked at her quickly, "Maybe you didn't tire them out enough." The XO just groaned.

"Make whoever it is go away."

The CO moved to open the door a fraction and then stiffened in surprise at seeing who was on the other side. A booming voice said. "May I come in?"

"Of course sir!" John stepped to the side and Admiral Washington walked in. Gail immediately shifted in a hasty attempt to get to her feet. The Admiral waved for her to stay seated and grinned at her predicament.

"I heard you put your squadron through their paces."

Gail grimaced, "Don't remind me sir."

"I actually watched some of it from the observation deck. Impressive. But, I'm not here to stroke your ego, I just wanted to personally let you know I located the pilots you rescued and they will be reporting to you tomorrow."

John looked thoughtful, "Where were they?"

The Admiral considered the question before carefully answering, "We had some overzealous folks who wanted to ensure they recovered any and all intelligence about our enemy that they could."

Gail looked worried at the implications, "Are the pilots okay sir?"

"They are as good as can be expected. Now your squadron has had some heavy losses recently and we cannot afford to let good pilots stay grounded."

"Of course not sir, but, Sir, with all due respect and with all that they have been through…"

Admiral Washington waved his hand cutting Gail off, "Why is it that whenever people say 'with all due respect' what they really mean is 'you can't be serious.' I know your objections XO and understand. But I am confident that you can bring them onboard and give them a good home here. This is war and we cannot afford to waste resources, especially not the human ones."

Gail wasn't so easily deterred, "Sir, our people are tired. Like you said before, we suffered losses that cut deep. Our people are the best, but they are also human. They've been going nonstop for a standard year and I am worried about them. Adding additional personnel with baggage might not be the most optimum way of…"

The Admiral waved her off again letting a little of his compassion show, "I know Gail, I saw the mission tapes from this one and the last. Losing your two Majors was a heavy blow. Posen has stepped up admirably, recent events notwithstanding. Even though she and Captain Beale are young for the role your squadron respects them and they are doing well under the circumstances."

John cut in, "We have faith in our Captains sir, this isn't about that."

Gail looked at them both, "Posen and Beale are pushing themselves too hard, trying to make up for what they think was their failure."

The Admiral just stared at her iced knees and raised his eyebrows.

Gail looked away before meeting his eyes, "I had to do this sir. Remind them that they're a team and can rely on each other."

The Admiral sighed, "You did the right thing. We are all tired of this damnable war." He looked at John and continued, "But you are right about needing a break. Tell your squadron that we will pull into Waypoint Station in three days and I'll buy them their first round."

John and Gail both smiled at hearing the news, "Thank you sir!"

The Admiral smiled at their enthusiasm then sobered, "Look, I need you to make these new pilots yours. Fully integrate them into your squadron."

"Of course sir." John agreed.

The Admiral looked away for a moment, considering his next words carefully. "We think they knew who Mitchell was or who her father was. I need you not to ask any of them about their time as prisoners. Get the word out to your people too. Just let them be. It will be best for everyone."

John though confused, answered for them both, "Yes sir."

The Admiral moved to the door, "We'll be at Waypoint Station soon enough and like I said, first round is on me."

John and Gail stared at each other for a moment after he left.

John raised his eyebrow, "A personal visit? He could have just used message traffic."

Gail looked pensive, "He was up in the observation deck today. I almost fell off the climbing wall when I saw him."

"Well on the bright side, we can use the new bodies."

Gail grimaced, "It's not their bodies I am worried about, it's their minds. And what was that whole 'don't ask questions' thing?"

John looked thoughtful then steered the conversation to less dangerous waters, "No idea, but R&amp;R at Waypoint? That will make everyone happy."

John and Gail stared at each other for a moment then let big smiles break out. John broke the silence first, "I'll let you tell them the good news since they are probably plotting your demise right about now."

Gail grinned back, "I am so getting a spa treatment."

_JO Jungle – Later that night_

Lily entered the room "helping" a limping Aubrey through the door. The blonde captain was barefoot and dressed in black running shorts and a red t-shirt that had ridden up slightly where Lily was gripping her around her waist. An angry pink line cut across her hip with bruising edging outwards from it.

"Lily! This is unnecessary! Let me go!" Lily only smiled at Aubrey's outburst and tightened her grip on the exhausted Captain.

Behind her Chloe could be heard arguing softly with Jessica, "Jess, just let us go back." Jessica pushed a tired Chloe lightly through the door keeping a firm grip on the redhead's shirt collar.

Stacie had made it off of her bed and was standing with her hands on her hips as the two Captains were thrust into the center of the room.

Cynthia Rose frowned in displeasure, "You two were really going to decline our invitation?" Aubrey just made a noise still trying to dislodge Lily's hand from her waist without success.

Chloe had grey track pants and a black t shirt on that she straightened unconsciously as the other pilot released her hold. The redhead looked back accusingly at Jessica before turning back to the group, "We thought you guys well…" she trailed off and looked down at her own bare feet. Jessica leaned up against the door folding her arms and blocking their exit.

Stacie walked up to Aubrey but looked at Chloe, ignoring clench low in her stomach that happened whenever she was near the blonde. "What? You thought what?"

Aubrey glared at Stacie, some fight coming back to her and answered for both of them, "That you guys would be mad at us, okay?" Lily let go and moved over to sit at the table. Aubrey glanced around the room before continuing more calmly, "We're sorry. We know that sucked beyond belief. It was our fault –"

Chloe cut her friend off, looking at her sadly, "No, it was my fault Bree, all of this, just like last time."

Ashley uncharacteristically cut them off, "Guys, knock it off. You know the XO has been waiting to do that for a while. She just didn't have time after the last mission."

Jessica spoke up from behind them, "Lily and I found them arguing about which one of them let us down more, so we thought we should bring them here and settle a few things."

Aubrey looked angry, "We are your Captains. It's our responsibility." A little softer she added, "You're our responsibility." Her eyes skittered to Stacie before looking over at Chloe.

Chloe nodded, "Aubrey's right, we know we let you down."

"Look at you both with your messed up sense of what just happened." Cynthia Rose came and stood in front of Chloe poking the redhead lightly. "You think that was just about you. XO wanted you to remember we are a team. You two been running so hot for so long only a matter of time before you crashed and burned."

Stacie moved to stop Cynthia Rose but Chloe waved her off, "It's okay Angel. She's right."

"Damn straight."

Chloe looked Cynthia Rose in the eye, "We didn't want to make you have to carry us is all."

"Shhiiiit Red, you weigh what, a buck fifty even in all that gear? Easy day." Cynthia Rose turned to Aubrey but Stacie stepped in front of her again. Cynthia Rose turned back to eye Chloe, unwilling to let this argument go. "The XO sent you both up that wall how many times while the rest of us watched? You know she wanted you to break Hell she was the one shooting at you from the ridge in that last scenario."

Chloe and Aubrey were quiet as their thoughts drifted back to earlier that day.

_Gravity Gym – Scenario Six_

_Chloe could hear the XO yelling at her from her place on top of the climbing wall, she couldn't even find it in herself to be happy that they had all made it through Scenario Five. The redhead's body was quitting on her as she clung to this godforsaken wall above her teammates below. Twenty feet across the wall to her right Aubrey glanced worriedly back at her, the same fatigue reflected back in the blonde's eyes. _

_Chloe shook the sweat out of her eyes and reached for her next handhold only to lose her grip and start sliding down the wall. Her heart in her mouth she grasped frantically for purchase, knowing that if she let her line catch her the XO would make her start from the bottom again. A heartbeat or two later she caught onto an outcropping with a shaky hand, crying out at the sharp pain in her shoulder. This stopped her fall, throwing her into the wall with a thud that left her breathless and hanging with one arm as she scrambled to get her feet under her. The strain on her shoulder brought hot tears to her eyes. The XO called out to her, but Chloe couldn't hear what she was saying over the sound of the blood rushing in her ears. She closed her eyes, sagging into the wall and trying to gather her strength._

_Suddenly her eyes snapped open, someone was clipping their line to her harness. Looking up she saw Jessica grinning grimly back at her. The agile blonde was like a mountain goat and seemingly unaffected by the extra gravity as she clung to the wall next to Chloe. Behind Jessica, Chloe noticed Benji clipping his harness to Aubrey's and setting off up the wall with the blonde in tow._

"_Let's get a move on Rider." Jessica's voice brought her wandering thoughts back. She nodded and watched as Jessica moved almost effortlessly up the wall, feeling the line pull tight as the other woman helped support her weight, the redhead pushed herself upwards, grateful, but also feeling a bit ashamed at needing the help._

_Jessica reached the top of the wall and leant over grabbing the back of Chloe's harness and yanking her over the edge to sprawl panting next to her. The XO was standing with one hand on her hip and another looking at her watch. Benji and Aubrey reached the top a moment later, Aubrey taking Benji's outstretched hand to get her over the edge. The XO stared at the two groups and then at her watch._

"_Okay, you have two minutes to get down the wall and formed up for the next scenario. Eyes widening the Marines set their lines, and scrambled to get in position, rappelling down quickly. Aubrey and Chloe hit hard and stumbled a little. Aubrey recovered, barking orders for everyone to form up as the terrain in the Gravity Gym reset itself around them. Jessica grabbed Chloe's belt and pulled her upright and into the formation area as the lights dimmed into an inky blackness obscuring the rest of the terrain._

_Donald wearily brought up the last scenario mission on his datapad, eyes widening at what he saw. Aubrey tensed seeing his surprise, a frisson of unease going up her spine._

"_Everybody down!" Donald's yell was drowned out by the whine of energy weapon discharges. Several impacted harmlessly near the squadron's boots but one connected with Bumper sending him sprawling. Another bolt dropped Denise as the rest of the Marines hit the dirt and edged up to find cover behind a low wall that had appeared. Kolio and Cynthia pulled Bumper and Denise in with them. The energy bolt had taken Bumper out at the knee and Denise had been shot in the shoulder. The training scenario used a stunner bolt that mimicked enemy weaponry but at a much reduced setting though it still hurt quite a bit. The Marines knew from experience that they were "wounded" and lost the use of their wounded limbs. _

_Aubrey had landed near Donald and they shared a hurried conversation as the bolts continued firing overhead. What sounded like explosions were heard in the distance, causing the entire gym to rattle._

_Donald pulled Aubrey close and shouted in her ear to be heard over the noise of the enemy weaponry impacting around them, "Mission is we're behind enemy lines and extraction is on the other side of an enemy held area. They have a jamming tower somewhere blocking our helmet comms." He showed her the known terrain on his datapad. A large swathe of it was blacked out; the only feature illuminated was a valley in the middle with gun placements overlooking it from a ridge in the distance. It would be suicide to go that way. Donald shared a weighted look with Aubrey. The scenario was a little too familiar and Aubrey tried to push down the nausea in her stomach at the memories it brought back. Donald grabbed her wrist bringing the blonde's attention back to him._

"_Don't read too much into this. XO might be trying to psych us out on this one." He told her, keeping his hand on her wrist. Aubrey nodded and then pulled away, risking a glance over the wall waiting for one of the explosions to illuminate the area. A particularly large explosion showed a low lying area to the left and sheer wall on the right leading up and ending in darkness. She dropped back down and drew in the dirt showing Donald what she saw._

_Point at the diagram as she spoke, she outlined the beginning of a plan, "I think we do two teams. See if we can get a recon team up that wall and hopefully they can take out the guns from there. We'll have to scout the low area in the hopes we can pull the wounded out that way after we deal with the guns and find that jamming tower." Aubrey waited while he considered her plan. After a moment he nodded._

_Donald dragged his finger around the diagram, assigning personnel. "Okay, Lily, Kolio and Jess can go for the wall since they're our best climbers, while I take Stacie and Benji down the left and see what we have to deal with. You keep the rest to provide cover fire for us." Donald held Aubrey's gaze for a moment as she fought down the urge to tell him she would lead one of the teams, finally she nodded and he called out the orders. Chloe glanced in surprise at Aubrey, normally they would be leading the groups but she didn't comment as Jess, Lily and Kolio started low crawling for the wall off in the distance. _

_Aubrey called out, "Suppression fire!" The group of Marines raised over the wall and fired off short bursts. Donald's team took off at a sprint as soon as the fire concentrated on Aubrey's position. They made it about halfway before the fire turned on them forcing them down into a low ditch. Realizing they were pinned Aubrey looked at her group, watching as Chloe, CR and Ashley fired trying to draw the enemy's attention back to their position. _

_It wasn't good enough, the weapons had honed in on the movement and continued to pin Donald's team. Aubrey looked up and cursed under her breath as weapons fire started raining down from the ridge that Jess and the others were climbing. Chloe immediately returned fire in that direction. Aubrey knew she was out of options, someone would have to draw the fire off of them._

"_Chloe, I need you to advance up the right and draw their fire on my mark." Chloe glanced back at her and nodded grimly, pushing down her memories of another ill-fated advance that had cost them dearly. "30 yards ahead there should be cover. So don't stop till you see it." Aubrey took a deep breath and waited for a lull in the enemy fire. She yelled out "GO!" and fired steady bursts towards the ridge. Donald's group recognized their opportunity and burst from their cover and disappeared into the blackness on the left._

_Chloe raced ahead doing her best to zigzag and avoid the enemy fire that rained down all around her. Miraculously she made it to the low wall diving at the last second and avoiding the sniper fire from the ridge. Breathing heavily she fought back a wave of dizziness at the exertion. Her position was precarious though as part of her body was still in view from the ridge. Aubrey's group had concentrated fire in that direction but had to drop back down behind their wall as enemy fire zeroed in. Chloe rose up and fired on what she thought was the last position of the sniper._

_Up on the ridge the XO ducked cursing as Chloe's return fire hit close to where she was positioned. She fought down a moment of pride at the redhead's marksmanship and returned to the task of making this scenario a little more difficult for her Marines. A gun barrel pressed into her ear derailing her plans and she froze._

"_Drop your weapon ma'am." Jessica's voice was tinged with nervous excitement at getting the drop on the XO. Gail was legitimately surprised that anyone had made it up the sheer wall. She had expected them to be entirely too tired to attempt the difficult ascent. Steeling herself she spun capitalizing on Jess' assumption that she wouldn't attack. She landed a blow below the blonde's chestpiece driving the air from her lungs and dropping the tall woman to her knees. The XO's victory was short lived as Lily hit her with a stunner blast dead center flinging her to the ground. The slim Asian woman helped a wheezing Jessica to her feet as Kolio moved up to stand next to them staring in surprise at the XO laying on the ground._

_The XO groaned from her prone position on the ground and admonished them, "Never let your guard down Jackal! Now keep moving your job's not over!" The trio hurried off to see what they could do about the gun emplacements and comms._

_Chloe had seen the weapons fire on the ridge and looked back at Aubrey's position. The rate of fire from the enemy placements increased and Chloe ducked down as clods of dirt were dislodged from her cover position. Aubrey signaled for her to stay down._

_After a few agonizing minutes a bright light lit up the sky and their radio's crackled to life with Jessica's voice in their ears._

"_This is Jackal, jamming tower destroyed, sniper neutralized, advancing on the emplacements, over."_

_Aubrey keyed her headset, "Roger Jackal. Socks, report status, over." _

_Donald's voice was strained with effort, "Valkyrie, this is Socks, we're pinned under a different emplacement here attempting to flank, over."_

_Aubrey frowned and seeing Chloe fidgeting under the enemy fire she keyed up the mic again, "Acknowledged. Rider hold position, Valkyrie out."_

_Moments later the emplacement closest to the ridge went up in a colorful explosion of light and sparks. The radio clicked and Jessica's voice came over, "Socks, we have visual on your position, enemy is dug in. Retreat, I repeat fall back from your position, over."_

_Donald's voice came back, "Acknowledged Jackal. What about that other emplacement, over?"_

"_We're on it. Birds eye view says middle path may be the best once it is down, over."_

_Aubrey cut in, "I have movement on my scanner. Looks like reinforcements are on their way from the ridgeline. Get that gun down Jackal and get your asses back here Socks."_

_Aubrey clutched her rifle, if the reinforcements made it to the ridge they would lose their window to escape through the valley. Seconds later the last emplacement went up in a shower of sparks. Donald's team came sprinting back through and slid into cover next to Aubrey and the others._

_Jessica yelled into the mic, "Guns down Valkyrie, but we have enemy moving along the ridge. We'll provide as much covering fire as we can but you need to move!"_

_Donald and Kolio grabbed Bumper, supporting his weight between them and hustled for the valley. CR helped Denise to her feet pushing her ahead. Aubrey stood up grimacing at the stiffness in her hip and watched Chloe take a point position. The redhead trained her rifle on the ridge and waited for her teammates to catch up. Benji and Stacie flanked Aubrey helping her along as they made a break for it._

_The team had made it halfway through the valley before fire broke out from the ridgeline. Jessica, Lily and Kolio were firing on and unseen enemy from somewhere up ahead and Aubrey felt her heart go into her throat. Ahead of them were a series of undulating small hills, like ski slope moguls, that stretched out. The team would have to traverse the difficult terrain before making it up a larger hill to the extraction area. Aubrey's hip was already on fire and she pushed herself forward only to be upended with a yelp._

_Jess' voice rang in their ears for them to hurry up._

_Benji had Aubrey slung over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, he turned and tossed her rifle to Stacie then took off at a run with the blonde holding on tight. They made it to the last set of hills before what was left of the enemy crested the ridge. Jessica's team had been effective in thinning the ranks from their elevated position but a few of the bots were still left and fired down on the Marines below. _

_The last few shots impacted close to the team as they struggled up the hill. Chloe was struck from behind in her thigh, going to the ground with a pained cry a few feet from the safe zone. Stacie was even with her in a second dragging the redhead by her collar across the line and to safety. Quickly the rest of the Marines dove or fell across the line. Benji was the last one to cross and collapsed with Aubrey in the safe area as the lights came on and the scenario ended with a loud buzz._

_The XO walked over from where she had been perched to stand over her Marines. She watched them as they lay sprawled together, dirty and exhausted. Aubrey was the first one to realize she was standing there watching them and struggled to her feet. The XO motioned for her to halt._

"_At ease everyone. Take a moment and catch your breath, you earned it." Stacie raised an eyebrow but didn't move. The XO had ran every exercise with them and somehow looked like she had just come from a briefing. Not a hair was out of place and her uniform was almost clean. _

"_Tomorrow team, you will…" the XO paused here for dramatic effect waiting as they all held their breath praying she wouldn't assign them more training, "have the day off to recover. Use it wisely." _

_An audible sigh of relief could be heard._

"_Everyone gets checked out by Dr. Kwon before heading back to their bunks. Dismissed."_

_With that the XO turned on her heel and exited the gym._

Stacie snapped her fingers bringing Chloe and Aubrey's thoughts back to the present.

Jessica pushed off of the door and walked to Chloe's side placing her hand on Chloe's shoulder and looking at Aubrey. "You guys don't have to do this alone." A murmur of assent went around the room.

Sensing the serious mood was making Chloe and Aubrey even more uncomfortable and likely to bolt. Stacie reached out for Aubrey's wrist, "Look we are all exhausted. We just wanted you guys to be with us like old times you know?" She looked around as all of the girls nodded. "Besides we know you two are way too busted up to climb into your racks, so let's get to cuddling Posen."

Thrown by the sudden shift in conversation Aubrey spluttered out a "Wh-what?"

Jessica steered Chloe towards her own rack by her shoulders, "That right, sleepover time ladies."

Stacie laughed at Aubrey's worried expression, "Don't worry Posen I'm too tired for anything besides light groping." She pulled the blonde down on the bunk with her.

"Stacie!" Aubrey squawked indignantly but didn't move to escape, feeling the day's exhaustion catching up with her. If she was being honest with herself, and she was always honest with herself, Aubrey knew she wanted to be held after a day like today.

Stacie pulled Aubrey into her arms, and couldn't resist teasing her a little. "I'll behave if you will." The rest of the girls giggled. For her part Chloe climbed into Jessica's bunk and made room for her friend without fanfare.

Jess laughed good naturedly, "Yeah I'm the one who should be worried since I'm sleeping with the midnight groper."

Chloe blushed, "Oh my God! It was one time and I was drunk!"

Ashley laughed out, "Sure you were Beale." Ashley had walked in on Jess trying to extricate herself from the sleeping redhead's octopus like grip after a night of drinking a few months back. Apparently Chloe had been dreaming and moaning in her sleep, waking Jess with a misplaced hand after falling into the other woman's bunk by mistake.

After a few more minutes of light hearted teasing the rest of the women settled down. Stacie smiled and nuzzled into Aubrey's hair at the base of her neck. She felt the blonde shiver lightly in her arms and breathed in slowly trying to calm her body's reaction to Aubrey's presence. Aubrey gave into her body's desire for comfort and curled into Stacie and sighed.

Everything had quieted down into sleepy breathing and light snores when across the room Jess yelled, "Chloe!" The redhead's answering giggle was muffled by the pillow Jess smacked her lightly with. The rest of the women that were still awake groaned. Luckily tomorrow was a day off for them all.


	10. Chapter 10

***Author's Note***

Sorry for the delay guys. "Work done blowed up!" Is the best way I can describe life right now. With poor grammar intended for a change. Four states in as many weeks and that looks like it may continue for a bit. This was written on a cross-country flight and finished while running on about 2 hours of sleep on the last 24. So what I am saying is, I really hope it doesn't suck...I wanted to post though as I can't promise regular updates. I will do my best though. Thanks for all of the feedback and support, you guys make the effort worthwhile!

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Aubrey awoke with a start – she had turned in her sleep and was now facing Stacie. Stacie's dark green eyes were open and blinking sleepily at her. The two women stared at each other for a few moments, Aubrey felt Stacie tense where her arm was loosely wrapped around the brunette's waist. Ignoring the voice in her head screaming at her to run out of the room, Aubrey listened to the one telling her she was tired of being lonely and moved her hand to Stacie's chest, pushing the tall woman onto her back. Stacie arched an eyebrow slightly but remained still, waiting and watching closely as the blonde hovered over her. After another long look Aubrey closed the distance and pressed her lips against Stacie's. The brunette's eyes widened, not expecting the blonde to be so bold before she gave herself over to the kiss.

Stacie's hands hovered near Aubrey's hips, fingers itching to latch on to the Aubrey's hips and pull her closer but she stayed passive, allowing Aubrey to lead this dance. Aubrey swept her tongue along Stacie's bottom lip and the Stacie eagerly parted her lips allowing Aubrey to deepen the kiss. Stacie couldn't resist the desire coursing through her any longer and grasped Aubrey's hips pulling her closer. The blonde ground down and Stacie arched up into her groaning lowly in her throat at the contact. Aubrey broke the kiss, rising up and keeping her hand on Stacie's chest, breathing heavily. She stared down at the brunette beneath her for a moment with lust darkened eyes before glancing around worriedly. The rest of the women were still zonked out and she sighed in relief before turning back to Stacie. Frowning slightly she pushed up into a sitting position, Stacie linked their hands stopping Aubrey before she could leave.

Aubrey smiled sadly at Stacie, running her thumb over the brunette's long fingers. She was reluctant to leave, but didn't know how to stay. Aubrey jumped a little when the comm unit on her wrist beeped feeling guilty even though no one was watching. Across the room Chloe's com unit beeped and the redhead groaned theatrically before Jessica elbowed her lightly and shushed her.

Aubrey read the text, apparently the CO and XO had news. With one last glance at Stacie she stood up letting her fingers trail out of the brunette's grasp before walking over to encourage Chloe to get up. Stacie just watched Aubrey push a mumbling Chloe out of the room before burying her head in her pillow and screaming causing the others to wake with a start.

After making themselves presentable Aubrey and Chloe entered the passageway on the way to the meeting. Aubrey had deflected Chloe's not so subtle attempts to get her to talk about her cuddle session with Stacie. The redhead was tired enough to leave it alone for a moment, for which the blonde was thankful for. Aubrey vowed to swear Stacie to secrecy later about their impromptu make out session or Chloe would never leave her in peace having relentlessly encouraged them both to stop dancing around each other.

The two women met up with Donald and Bumper at a corner the other two Captains fell into step with them.

"So much for a day off," Bumper griped. The others ignored him as they made their way down the passageway towards the CO's cabin. Aubrey tried to erase the awkwardness she was feeling at what happened between her and Stacie earlier but her mind kept replaying it in detail. Chloe for her part seemed to not have the same issue despite having to untangle herself from Jessica. Not for the first time Aubrey envied Chloe's uncomplicated outlook on boundaries and friendships.

Donald looked at Aubrey, "You think they're sending us out again?"

Aubrey for her part uncharacteristically shrugged in reply while Chloe voiced what they were all thinking and said, "God, I hope not," in a tired voice.

When they reached the Lt. Col. Smith's door Aubrey paused and fixed each of her fellow Captains with a glare until they straightened up a bit. Chloe exchanged a mildly exasperated look with her before straightening up and shaking off the last of her lethargy. The group was still exhausted from yesterday's training run in the Gravity Gym but that was no excuse to slouch in the blonde's book. Satisfied that they were as presentable as they would get Aubrey knocked on the door announcing their presence.

The XO opened the door and ushered them inside. The CO's cabin was spacious, containing a formal seating area with a couple small couches, chairs and low table. There was also a desk situated towards the rear of the room and a sleeping area separated by a door. The CO was already sitting in one of the plush armchairs. The XO motioned for the Captains to take a seat. Gail sat on the other side of the CO who was waiting for them to get settled, not even bothering to hide his smirk at how stiffly they were moving

Once they were seated and he had their full attention he grinned stretching out the awkward silence. Aubrey had her hands folded primly in her lap, while Chloe fidgeted under the CO's gaze next to her. Finally the XO broke the silence and Aubrey had to stop herself from sighing in relief.

"We have good news team. We are pulling into Waypoint Station in a little over forty-eight standard hours." She smiled and waited while the news registered with her Captains smiling back at their answering grins. We arranged for the squadron to have three days on the station, the Admiral even sent a round of drink chits for the squadron. Bumper pumped his fist and hissed out an excited "Yesssss!"

Aubrey frowned, "No duty sections?" The other three Captains shot her incredulous looks. The XO smirked at the blonde's comment. "Commander Taylor's squadron will be covering the duty rotation since they lost the last three Squadron Field Day Competitions."

Donald high fived Chloe, "That's 'cause Rider here has some mad skills!"

Chloe smiled brightly back at him and then sobered, turning to the XO, "Any word on the pilots we rescued Ma'am?"

The XO nodded. "Yes, that is the other reason the CO and I called you in. Admiral Washington informed us that they will be returned to us today for permanent assignment." Gail paused a moment letting the news sink in and did a silent countdown in her head waiting for Aubrey to voice her concerns, she was surprised when it was Donald who spoke up.

"Isn't it a little soon for them to be back on duty ma'am?" He stopped but looked like he wanted to say more. Aubrey was next.

"Are they even medically cleared? They were in pretty bad shape." Aubrey locked eyes with the XO unwilling to see how Chloe was reacting to all of this. She swore she could feel Chloe vibrating with excitement and forced herself to concentrate on what the XO was saying.

The XO waved her hand, "The CO and I understand your concerns, but we cannot turn away good pilots especially now. We know that this is going to require everyone to adapt to having new faces after so long." She locked eyes with each of them in turn before continuing, "I expect them to be welcomed into the squadron. We aren't the only ones who have lost good people.

The CO broke in, "Medical has assured us that they are well on their way to recovery. They have to regain some conditioning obviously, and the added time on the station will no doubt help with that. But they are cleared to return."

The XO smiled back at him, deciding to tweak her Captains a little more, "You know John, we could schedule another session in the Gravity Gym to see where the conditioning status of everyone is at."

The CO out his hand on his chin and considered it as the four junior officers had enough sense to look worried.

Chloe was the first to break, "Wouldn't it be better to ease them back into things ma'am?" The others chimed in their agreement.

Gail grinned at them, "You're probably right. At any rate, I expect them to be integrated. No turf battles, am I clear?"

The Captains nodded their acceptance. The CO took over, "For the time being we are going to have them move in to our existing staterooms. After a month or two we will look at shuffling everyone around if necessary."

Gail continued looking at Aubrey and Chloe, "Lt Mitchell and Captain Daniels will move in with you two and Lt Swanson will room with Benji and Kolio while Captain Grey will room with you and Bumper, Donald."

The CO nodded, "Frankly we have been stretched thin for months. Getting two experienced Captains is going to help lighten the workload for everyone." Noticing that Aubrey and Donald appeared concerned he clarified, "Don't worry, they won't be taking over, but all four of them have impressive service records and they will make a good addition to our team."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Posen, the piece of Alien material you brought back has the scientists all excited. They asked us to be on the lookout for more next time, but the CO and I would appreciate you not bringing it back embedded in a body part this time."

Aubrey smiled slightly, "Yes ma'am."

The CO stood up, everyone immediately rising to their feet. "Okay then, we've taken up enough of your time. Enjoy the rest of your day." He stared at Aubrey and Donald, "Which means no work. I don't want to see anyone near the hangar today. Now go tell everyone the good news."

The Captains exited the room and when they were safely around the corner, let out a raucous cheer and ran to break the news that they were getting R&amp;R on a Space Station for the first time in over a year. The news spread through the ship like wildfire and the next few hours were spent making plans and talking about all the things they were going to do. Aubrey had left the mini party that had broken out in their ready room and headed for the peace and quiet of her stateroom.

Stacie hadn't approached her but the brunette had kept trying to catch her eye. Aubrey was at a loss for what to do so she elected to retreat rather than deal with the mess she had made. Chloe had watched worriedly from the sidelines guessing that more had transpired than Aubrey was letting on. The two women had been friends since they were kids and Chloe knew she would never be able to get Aubrey to talk before the blonde was ready.

Aubrey closed the door to the stateroom and leaned over her desk, trying to clearer head. After a moment she heard the door open behind her. She turned, ready to tell Chloe that she didn't want to talk only to stop in her tracks at the site of Stacie leaning up against the door. Both women stood quietly, unsure of how to start the conversation. Stacie reached some internal decision and advanced stopping in front of the blonde. Aubrey stood rooted to her spot watching the lanky brunette advance. She placed her hand on Stacie's chest stopping from closing the distance and mirroring her actions earlier that morning.

"We're talking about this." Stacie's voice was gentle, but Aubrey still felt like each word was a slap. How could she talk about something she didn't understand herself? She tried to back up and put some distance between them but Stacie moved with her. The brunette placed her hand on top of the one Aubrey had on her chest, rubbing her thumb over it soothingly. Stacie had told herself on the way over that she wouldn't beg, but standing here now she couldn't remember the reasons she had against begging.

"Aubrey, I know this isn't easy for you, but we could be good together if you would just give me a chance." Aubrey looked slightly alarmed and opened her mouth to protest but Stacie cut her off, desperate to say her piece now that she started.

"Hear me out. I get it Aubrey, I really do. You think we can't keep it professional, that I'm not serious enough for this. But dammit Posen, I understand you. You don't have to hide with me and I think that is what really fucking scares you." The brunette paused realizing that maybe she wasn't making her best case. Aubrey for her part was standing there with her brows pursed. Stacie decided to go with her strengths.

"Fuck it, I was never good with words." With that Stacie pushed forward trapping their joined hands between them and kissed Aubrey hard. The blonde took a step back in surprise but opened herself to the kiss reflexively. Stacie backed Aubrey up until her back thudded onto the locker by her desk, dropping her hands to Aubrey's hips and pulling the blonde flush against her. Aubrey didn't resist, her blood already thrumming in her veins. Instead she relaxed into Stacie bringing her hands up to frame the other woman's face. The blonde moved her hand and grabbed Stacie's hair and pulled her forcefully out of the kiss bending slightly to latch onto the brunette's pulse point sucking and nipping lightly. Stacie groaned at the contact feeling the pressure building in her core and ground her hips forcefully into Aubrey's eliciting a sexy moan from the blonde.

Aubrey was already panting with need and Stacie had barely touched her. She pushed a hand up under the brunette's t-shirt kneading Stacie's breast through her bra smiling into the kiss when Stacie moaned her name. The blonde's touch was driving her insane and Stacie crashed their mouths back together pushing her leg between Aubrey's and ground down again needing the friction on her center.

A wolf whistle trilled through the room and Aubrey pushed Stacie away from her panting only to find Beca and Sophia standing in the doorway holding bedding and duffel bags.

Beca spoke first, eyes wide, "Holy shit." Sophia dropped her duffel bag and smacked her. The older dark haired woman turned with sympathetic eyes back to the two women who were trying to straighten their clothing. She smiled and attempted to ease the tension.

"Really sorry to interrupt ladies. The XO told us to drop her stuff and that she would be by to check on how we're getting settled in." Sophia didn't look all that sorry, instead she was grinning at their disheveled state.

Aubrey self-consciously ran her hand through her hair still trying to get her breathing to even out. Stacie recovered first and went over to Beca grabbing her bedding.

"Uh yeah, let me help you with that shorty." Stacie grinned gaining back some of her equilibrium. Beca rolled her eyes in response falling back into the easy banter the two had shared at the Academy.

"Whatever Conrad, go ahead act like you didn't have your tongue halfway down Posen's throat just a second ago." Beca smirked at Stacie, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Stacie merely shrugged and replied easily, "Leave Posen out of this or I'll force your tiny self to climb up and make this bunk up alone."

Aubrey finally shook off her embarrassment enough to help Sophia get her things squared away. After the women had stowed their newly issued flight suits and work out gear the awkward silence came back. Stacie realizing that Aubrey wouldn't even look at her let out a frustrated sigh and glared at Beca before hugging her tightly.

"Lousy timing Bec, but I'm still glad we got your skinny ass back. Come by and see us later?" Beca nodded after awkwardly extricating herself from Stacie's arms. Stacie looked at Aubrey who was standing stiffly next to her desk avoiding looking at anyone. Sighing the lanky brunette excused herself and left the room with one last backward glance at Aubrey.

"Look Beca, I know what you must be thinking." Aubrey started trying to do damage control unwilling to let it go, Beca just smirked back at her.

"Pretty sure, you don't there Posen." Beca realized that Aubrey was off kilter and embarrassed but after all of the grief that Aubrey had put her through at Barden Station, she couldn't resist tweaking her a bit.

Aubrey huffed in exasperation. "Look we have to –" just then Chloe sauntered into the room singing and swaying slightly interrupting whatever the blonde was about to say. Apparently Lily's stash of illegal alcohol was going to be a little less now. Beca froze before turning to busy herself organizing her locker. Chloe for her part looked confusedly between the three women in the room. Aubrey groaned to herself. They were setting a great example for their newest members, she was fraternizing in her room and even from where she was standing Aubrey could smell the scent of alcohol rolling off of the redhead.

Sophia quirked an eyebrow, "So, this is how the famous Banshees roll? I'm impressed Posen, I always had you pegged as a hard ass."

Aubrey frowned drawing breath to begin defending their squadron, but Beca cut her off snarking, "Don't worry Sophia, the rumors are true, she's never met a rule she didn't love."

Chloe finally shook off her paralysis, "Hey, that's not fair."

Beca looked chastised at the redhead's admonishment before covering it with her usual air of indifference.

Sophia looked at Aubrey who was turning an impressive shade of red with anger at the slim woman's words. Realizing that the teasing wasn't going over well she backtracked a bit. "Relax guys, I'm just busting your chops Aubrey. Nice to know everything isn't always doom and gloom around here."

Sensing that Aubrey was still ready to continue the fight with Beca, Chloe stepped further into the room and placed her hand warmly on Sophia's arm, "We're so glad you guys are okay." Chloe looked at Beca, but the brunette kept her back to everyone.

Sophia smiled at Chloe, "So, I heard a rumor that after Posen and I went down you kicked some ass?"

Chloe rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, even Beca turned slightly unable to fully hide her interest.

"Well, I couldn't let you have all the fun now could I?" Chloe joked back lightly.

Beca frowned, not liking the easy banter between Sophia and Chloe. She shook her head, refusing to analyze it any further and then caught Aubrey staring at her thoughtfully. Not liking the sudden feeling of being exposed, she mumbled an excuse and slipped out of the room leaving the other there women to share a confused look.

Chloe started to go after her, but Aubrey's hand at her elbow stopped her. Chloe knitted her brow, Aubrey spoke softly, reluctant to start an argument in front of Sophia, "Let her go Chloe, not a good idea to be wandering the hall smelling like a brewery."

Seeing that Chloe was ready to protest, Sophia jumped in wanting to diffuse the sudden tension, "Yeah, the XO was walking around Red. Probably safer just to go to bed."

Chloe took a moment, looking between Aubrey and Sophia before nodding in defeat. She waved her hand dismissively, then climbed in her rack.

Sophia watched her get settled and decided a change of subject couldn't hurt. The pretty woman made eye contact with Aubrey, her raspy voice adding gravity to her words. "Hey, I do appreciate what you guys did. Thanks for coming to get us." Unable to hold Aubrey's gaze, afraid of seeing pity or sadness reflected there, Sophia looked away and continued, "We thought no one was coming." After a moment the dark haired woman straightened shaking off her melancholy and smiled, "Seeing Red there kick some ass, was definitely a bright spot though."

Chloe snorted from her bunk, blue eyes catching and holding Sophia's gaze before the redhead rolled over to sleep off her bender.

Aubrey spent the rest of the evening laying in her bunk replaying the events with Stacie on a loop in her brain that refused to shut off. Sometime around midnight Beca slunk back in and quietly got ready for bed. Seeing Aubrey's gaze in the low light the slim woman held it for a moment, an unreadable expression crossing her angled features before turning and climbing into her rack.

Aubrey rolled over still trying to figure out how to deal with Stacie, hoping that the visit to Waypoint wouldn't be a disaster. Her last thought before sleep claimed her was of Stacie's sad eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning found Aubrey trying to avoid her room at all costs. She had woken up before everyone else after a restless night and slipped out. An hour later the XO caught her looking over her Hellcat and promptly banished her from the hangar, standing with her hands on her hips watching to make sure Aubrey left. Feeling out of sorts now that she wasn't able to lose herself in the maintenance routines on her jet Aubrey wandered the halls. A little while later she found herself on one of the lower decks outside of one of their "Ready Rooms." The Ready Rooms were scattered around the interior of the ship. A few were adjacent to the hangars, but centuries ago World War II had shown the error of that layout after a carrier was crippled with their pilots lost when their Ready Rooms were hit by Kamikazes. Now the rooms were strategically located and each squadron was assigned a few for different purposes.

The one Aubrey was standing outside now was seldom used even though it was in a prime location because this had been where Kaz and Lion had made their second home. All that was left of the two Majors were their dog tags, flight patches and a few personal effects arranged on a makeshift shrine to the squadron's fallen. Aubrey stood outside a moment, resting a hand against the hatch at shoulder height, contemplating whether or not she wanted to enter the space. Then she heard someone moving inside and pushed through the hatch intent on reaming out whoever was trespassing.

Bursting through the door she stopped cold at seeing Beca in front of the table where various personal effects were scattered across the surface. Pictures of smiling pilots adorned the wall above the table with patches stapled next to them. Below on the table rested a baseball glove, ping pong paddle, decoder ring and other mementos that were haphazardly arranged. Beca had turned with a startled yelp upon hearing Aubrey's entrance. The young pilot had a dozen or so dog tags dangling from her hand. Aubrey remembered Sophia dropping them on the Huggy. They were scrubbed clean from the blood that had liberally coated them on the station. The two women stood frozen in place for a moment, staring at each other in surprise. Beca broke eye contact first, her eyes skittering to the tags in her hand and over to the table where a few sets were already draped over a flight helmet with the distinctive Banshees logo on its side.

Aubrey stepped forward and Beca instinctively backed up a pace, stammering out, "Uh, Chloe said um…"

The blonde stopped for a second, sadness marring her features before bailing out the faltering woman, "Beca, it's okay." Aubrey paused a moment, waiting for Beca to meet her gaze. When Beca continued staring at the dogtags in her hand and refused to meet her gaze, Aubrey spoke again, gently, "We'd be honored Beca."

Beca looked up then, eyes holding back tears. She used her free hand to wipe them away swiftly before they could fall. Aubrey turned to the table and fingered Kaz's dogtag, giving the brunette time to collect herself. Sensing that Beca needed more than just her platitudes, the blonde pilot took a chance and spoke softly, almost to herself as if afraid to disturb the memories lying on the table.

"These belonged to Paul Anders. Or Kaz. He and Molly "Lion" Nesse," here Aubrey paused, pulling another set of dogtags and resting them on the table in her hands before she continued, "were the Majors in charge of our squadron when Chloe and I got here. They were legends." Aubrey turned slightly to look at Beca, the small woman was still for a second before closing the distance to stand awkwardly next to her, waiting for Aubrey to continue.

"Kaz and Lion were tough, but fair, the kind of leaders who didn't have to throw their weight around to get people to follow. They died," Aubrey paused forcing the lump that had risen in her throat back down and turned back to the dogtags in her hand, running her thumb reverently across the surface. She forced herself to continue, not knowing why she was talking to Beca like this when she and Chloe had barely spoken about it. Chloe had wanted to but Aubrey always changed the subject. Shaking her head, she forced herself to get this out. "They died, saving Chloe and I." A single tear wound its way down Aubrey's cheek.

"They could have saved themselves. We were rigging the mine we were in to blow, intending to trap the Gaks. Chloe and I were on point on our way back to the rendezvous from setting the last charge and we walked right into an ambush. Kaz and Lion were with us. The Gaks flanked us, Chloe and Lion were shot and we were pinned down. Lion wasn't bad but Chloe…I tried dragging her out and…" Aubrey looked away, clutching the dogtag in her hand so hard that her knuckles whitened. Beca shifted, uneasy and unsure how to handle an unguarded Aubrey but feeling her own pain at losing her friends echoed in the grief she could hear in the other woman's voice. Beca reached out and covered Aubrey's hand with her own while telling the voice in her head that said this was dangerous to shut up. As soon as Beca's delicate hand grasped Aubrey's, the blonde turned to look at it with a thousand yard stare, lost in the memory of that battle.

A soft noise behind them startled them both, Beca pulling away from Aubrey as if on fire. Chloe was peeking into the room from the door. Seeing the surprised looks on both women's faces she frowned and hesitantly approached.

"Sorry guys. I just wanted to make sure Beca found…" Chloe waved her hand to indicate the space and its contents, unwilling to give voice or name to the sacred contents within. Beca's eyes skittered over Chloe before she turned to face the table, dogtags clinking softly in her hand. The redhead glanced at Beca's back with an unreadable expression then closed the distance between her and Aubrey, placing her hand on the blonde pilot's shoulder. Aubrey cursed inwardly, upset at allowing Beca and Chloe to see her being weak like this. She needed to be strong, to be the leader they could rely on. Not sniveling in front of Beca who barely respected her authority to begin with. Her instinct was to brush this off, push Chloe away and walk out. Still she had promised Chloe that she would be better about not shutting the redhead out so she fought down her base instinct to run and stayed.

While Chloe's attention was focused on Aubrey, Beca draped the dogtags on the table, pausing a moment to remember the people they represented. Chloe looked at Aubrey, questioning softly, "Bree?"

Aubrey shook her head quickly turning away from Chloe's touch. She reached up brushing her eyes with the back of her hand. Chloe backed off giving Aubrey some space and turning worried blue eyes to where Beca was standing quietly lost in thought. As if sensing Chloe's eyes, Beca shook the distant look from her eyes, crossing her arms and turning to Chloe and Aubrey, not quite meeting Chloe's expectant gaze.

Suddenly remembering the other reason she was searching for the two women and wanting to diffuse the tension, Chloe tugged on Aubrey's sleeve, "Stacie and the others are waiting for us up in the Romper Room."

Beca did a double-take, "The what?"

Aubrey for her part looked uneasy at occupying the same space as Stacie.

Chloe smiled at Beca, "The Romper Room, you'll just have to see it."

Beca and Aubrey looked at Chloe with almost identical skeptical looks, each with an eyebrow perfectly raised. Chloe fought the urge to smile brightly in amusement but lost the battle. Aubrey snorted at Chloe's amusement and pushed past the redhead, happy at least to escape without further discussion. Beca gave a start at seeing Aubrey retreat and unwilling to be left alone in the space with her memories and Chloe she quickly followed after the blonde. She wouldn't let herself think about which scared her more, her memories or Chloe.

Chloe paused a moment, kissing her fingers and laying them on the Banshees helmet before following after the two women.


	12. Chapter 12

Chloe caught up to Beca who was following slightly behind Aubrey figuring that the blonde was on her way to this "Romper Room" thing that Chloe had mentioned.

Aubrey tried to veer away down the hallway that led to their stateroom but Chloe was quick to grasp her wrist and dig her heels in, pulling the blonde to a halt. Beca shifted awkwardly from foot to foot watching the interplay between the two best friends.

"Chloe." Aubrey growled warningly. Chloe for her part just smiled back though a hint of challenge was edged into her grin.

"Aubrey." The ginger teased back in a playful growl. Aubrey rolled her eyes huffing in annoyance and tried unsuccessfully to pull out of Chloe's grip.

Unwilling to concede Aubrey tried reasoning with her friend, "Chloe, they don't need me for this. You guys go ahead. Have fun."

Chloe's smile widened, Beca felt the edges of her mouth turn upwards in response to the redhead's obvious amusement until she felt Aubrey's glare heat her skin. Beca schooled her features back into an impassive mask.

"Aubrey, we're doing room assignments." Chloe paused for dramatic effect, releasing her grip on the blonde and turning slightly to leave before making her next statement drip with suggestion, "I'll just tell Stacie you are fine with whatever she wants to do with you." Aubrey visibly paled and Beca couldn't resist an undignified snort at Aubrey's expense that she tried to cover with a cough.

Beca trailed after Chloe sparing a glance over her shoulder at Aubrey who was staring off into space before looking skyward and shrugging dramatically.

The slim brunette caught up with Chloe, "I think you broke her Beale." Beca offered in playful amusement.

Chloe looked taken aback that Beca was addressing her directly before regaining her equilibrium and shrugging offhandedly offering, "She'll be fine. Sometimes she just needs me to remind her it's okay to have feelings." Beca's smile faltered a bit, no longer sure that they were talking about the same thing. The younger pilot was saved from further commentary by Aubrey's reappearance. She wisely withheld the smart remark she so desperately wanted to throw at the blonde. For her part Chloe just grinned.

The women turned down another passageway where Beca heard the rhythmic thumping of loud music and echoes of raucous laughter emanating from a colorfully decorated doorway. The walls on either side of the door and the door itself were covered in colorful signs, placards and posters making the area look like a cross between a kid's treehouse and someplace the Lost Boys of Peter Pan would call home.

Beca ran her fingers along the wooden sign with gaudy lettering that stated "BANSHEES ONLY!" Just below it was a metal sign titled "EMERGENCY ZOMBIE DEFENSE STATION" complete with survival instructions in case of a Zombie Apocalypse.

Another elaborately designed sign hung nearby with the words, ADULTS BY INVITATION ONLY with the word Adults was crossed out and someone had stenciled in "0-5's and up!" in its place.

Chloe ran her fingers over the saying on a metal sign with a skull and crossbones at the top and the words "Goonies Never Say Die" below before pushing her way through the heavy door. Aubrey repeated the gesture before following the redhead into the room. Beca frowned, but superstitiously mimicked their actions and then stepped into the chaos within.

Colorful World War II posters and what had to be 20th and 21st century movie posters were liberally spread across the wood paneled walls. GI Joe, Uncle Sam and Rosie the Riveter stared back at her among others.

A pool table, foosball table, ping pong table, couches, tables, dartboards and several vintage arcade machines were spread through the room. A full bar with bar seating was centered in the back of the spacious room with the liquor locked up in the cabinets.

Chloe smiled at Beca's open mouthed stare. Beca whispered, "Is this even real?" Before she realized that she had said that out loud and blushed, brushing her hair back from her forehead and ignoring Aubrey's smirk at her comment.

The entire squadron, including Jesse, Sophia and Luke were sprawled around the room laughing and catcalling at Stacie and Cynthia Rose who were singing karaoke complete with an elaborate dance routine on a makeshift stage. Chloe clapped along happily as they finished and Aubrey for her part stood with folded arms pretending that she wasn't watching Stacie gyrate on the stage.

Stacie and Cynthia Rose bowed and blew kisses out into the audience after the song finished. Cynthia Rose fell into a seat breathing heavily and Stacie waved Benji up on stage as she sank into the seat next to Cynthia Rose. Benji was wearing a cape and a purple wizard hat with yellow stars, he swept his hand upward and suddenly a microphone was in it. Smiling, he told the audience that he was about to astound them with feats of prestidigitation, the likes of which they had never seen before.

Laughing Luke called out, "Presto-what mate?"

Benji smiled back and dropped his voice low hugging the mic close to his face he leaned towards the audience and said, "Magic!"

Stacie rushed to reassure everyone, "Relax guys, you'll like this."

While everyone's attention was on the stage, Aubrey eyed the door, calculating the odds of her being able to slip out unnoticed while everyone's attention was on Benji.

"Don't even think about." Aubrey jumped, Chloe had reappeared and grabbed her elbow whispering the words into her ear with quiet force.

Aubrey shot her a pleading look, "Please Chlo, let me go."

Chloe leaned back in, "You need to act like an adult here Bree. Plus, this isn't just about you, you know." Chloe looked pointedly over her shoulder where Jesse, Luke, Sophia and Beca all sat in a group, a little removed from the rest of the squadron. She frowned a little, then looked away as she caught Stacie watching her.

Looking at Chloe's hand on her arm, she blew out a breath. "Yeah, I know."

Chloe smiled a small smile and patted Aubrey's arm reassuringly, "It'll be okay. Promise."

Aubrey was about to reply when a knock at the door interrupted her. Exchanging a curious look with Chloe she opened the door slightly and saw the XO standing on the other side. Aubrey was about to open the door and invite her into the room, but the XO held up a hand and beckoned her outside. Aubrey exchanged another look with Chloe before exiting the room, closing the door softly behind her.

"Yes ma'am? Did you want to come in?" Aubrey asked politely, wondering what happened to cause the XO would seek her out.

The XO shook her head, "No, I wouldn't want to interrupt." The XO paused, seeming to contemplate saying more before holding her hand out to Aubrey. In it she held a small set of keys that went to the liquor cabinets behind the bar. Aubrey automatically reached out to accept the keys raising an eyebrow in question. They had been allowed to drink underway before, but it the opportunities had been few and far between in the contested space they had been patrolling for the past two years.

"I cleared it with the Admiral, so don't worry. The Ramblers have the duty, so we're clear for a little R&amp;R." The XO looked away again.

Aubrey could tell something was bothering the XO, and with the ship pulling into Waypoint tomorrow evening, this seemed a strange time to authorize this. She couldn't help asking, "Ma'am, is everything alright?"

The XO seemed to come back from far away, glancing back at Aubrey and forcing a smile before replying briskly, "Nothing you need to worry about Valkyrie. Keep it within reason, okay?"

Aubrey nodded and tried a different tactic, "Of course, thank you ma'am. Are you sure you won't join us for a round?"

The XO smiled for real this time, "Oh no, I don't want to throw a wet blanket over your bonding time." She nodded to the sign saying 0-4's and below only. "Go have fun and remember, keep it low-key. I don't want to find Angel and Rider singing outside the Admiral's quarters this time."

Aubrey blushed, her own memory of that particular incident a little hazy. "Aye, aye ma'am."

The XO turned and walked off down the hallway. Aubrey watched her for a second, instincts telling her something was up with the XO, but realizing she wouldn't get any further answers tonight, she squared her shoulders and pushed back through the door into their clubhouse.

Chloe and the others turned to look at her questioningly as she walked back in, word getting around that the XO had been outside. Aubrey held up the keys in her hand and smiled. A loud cheer from her group broke out before Chloe grabbed the keys from her.

"Wait. What's happening?" Sophia asked as the others all stood up and started for the bar area.

Stacie smiled, "XO just gave us keys to the liquor!"

"Whoa really?" Beca joined in. Luke moved up to the bar to stand next to Chloe as she unlocked the cabinet doors.

"You guys need to let us handle this." Luke said as he beckoned Beca.

Chloe stood back with her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at him as Beca joined the blond behind the bar. The slim pilot rolled up her sleeves.

"Oh yeah, Beale. We got this."

Luke started juggling liquor bottles as Chloe looked over at Aubrey. Aubrey nodded and Beca rolled her eyes at their exchange and then started pulling glasses out from beneath the bar.

"Don't worry, you're gonna love this." She smiled as Luke stopped juggling and put the bottles down.

"You guys have to try my signature drink." Luke started mixing the alcohol into a shaker as Beca mirrored his actions.

Stacie perched on the edge of a bar stool and leaned in, "I'm game, what's it called?"

Sophia answered for him, "He calls it 'Tarzan's Yell' and you may want to rethink that. You might wake up naked somewhere on the ship and not remember anything."

Stacie's grin widened, "Now I have to try it." She turned to Luke, "Is that how you got your call sign?"

Luke grinned back at her but was cut off from whatever reply he was about to give by Jesse. "No, he got that because he takes his shirt off every chance he gets." Luke laughed and raised his shirt up showing off his rather impressive abdominal muscles.

Stacie smirked, "Nice. I approve."

The rest of the gang crowded around as Luke and Beca started passing out the green drink. Chloe was watching Aubrey who was frowning at Stacie who was currently leaning in and whispering something to Luke.

Jessica looked at the drink in her hand, "Um, this is green."

Ashley said, "Probably the color we'll be tomorrow morning."

Lily proceeded to throw hers back without comment, placing the empty glass back on the bar in front of Beca. Beca smiled and poured another for her.

Aubrey spoke up from the back, "Just keep it within reason guys."

Beca rolled her eyes at the comment, "Don't get your panties in a twist Posen. We can hold our alcohol. Can you?"

Aubrey bristled at Beca's tone but was prevented from replying by Stacie who was now standing in front of her, having left her spot at the bar. She looked back over her shoulder with a warning glance at her friend.

"Don't you worry about Posen, Becs. She can drink your tiny ass under the table. Kaz used to say she was part Viking, right Valkyrie?" Stacie shoved a glass into Aubrey's hand and locked eyes willing her to let it go.

Sophia broke in trying to cut through the tension after Beca's comment, "I guess since we're talking about callsigns, we know why Benji's called Wizard and now we know Luke's story. What about the rest of you?"

The group was now scattered around the bar area.

Jessica laughed, "Well we call Donald, Socks, because after a night of drinking with Recon Two planetside, we found him passed out the next morning in a ditch wearing only his socks."

Donald blushed and raised his glass then said to the group, "Yeah and we call Jess, Jackal because her laugh sounds like a jackal's does when she's drunk."

Jess threw a pretzel at him, "I thought it was because I was crafty and resourceful!"

Cynthia Rose pushed her friend lightly, "Whatever you have to tell yourself there Jess."

Jess nodded at Cynthia, "CR here is Trips because she won a Texas Hold 'Em tournament on that hand. She beat out Commander McGovern thus winning the hearts of many."

A chorus of "That guy's an asshole" was mumbled around the table.

When everyone had a drink in their hand, Benji raised his glass and called out, "Banshees!" Which was echoed by the rest of the group.

Chloe pointed to her empty glass, "Luke, this is awesome!"

Luke smiled back, "Glad you like it Red."

Another round of toasts went around and Aubrey called one for Beca's squadron, "Vandals." Everyone was solemn for a moment as they drained their glasses and then Sophia shook her head.

"Wow Luke, I forgot how strong these were."

"Strong but tasty!" Jesse added.

CR grimaced, "Dude. No. You saying that just seems wrong."

Deciding to get the conversation about callsigns back on track now that everyone was a little inebriated Sophia looked over at Chloe who was watching intently as Beca mixed another round of drinks.

"What about you Red? I figured they would have went the easy route and called you Scarlet or something." Sophia twirled a lock of her hair absently watching interestedly as Chloe blushed and Beca dropped the metal shaker she was using with a clatter.

Stacie laughed, "Oh no, I get to tell this story. Aubrey and I were coming back from a class that was cancelled back on Barden station and we walked in on Chloe here…"

Chloe swatted indignantly at her friend, "Stacie!" Stacie fended off her hands and exchanged an amused glance with a tipsy Aubrey who was resting her chin on her hand and giggling. Aubrey picked her head up and shook it as if trying to erase the image in her mind like an etch-a-sketch.

"Oh god, Stacie, don't remind me."

The rest of the squadron was laughing, obviously familiar with this story. Stacie smiled at Chloe and continued her story.

"Anyway, Aubrey and I get back to the room and walk in on Chloe going full cowgirl. All I saw was feet and Chloe on top of someone going –" Stacie grabbed her boobs and bounced up and down in her seat moaning theatrically. Now Aubrey was pushing Stacie and laughing.

The rest of the room laughed. Sophia was watching Beca through the corner of her eye. The slim brunette had a death grip on the shaker she had been using to mix the alcohol.

Sophia continued her line of questioning after the laughter died down.

"Who was the lucky guy, or girl?" Sophia grinned at Chloe's uncharacteristic blush.

"Well, it is really 'Ride-her,'" Stacie placed the extra emphasis on the last syllable and continued, "so you know Rider…" The tall woman looked uncharacteristically thoughtful, "Or a guy with really small feet, maybe."

Aubrey saved Chloe from answering, cutting Stacie off, "Oh Chloe never told us who. Stacie and I left quickly, so we never saw."

Stacie groused, "Yeah, cause you made us leave. I totally would have…" She never got to finish her sentence because Beca started handing out another round of drinks interrupting the flow of conversation. Sophia watched her exchange a look with Chloe before the small woman returned to the safety of the bar.

Jesse joined in, swaying slightly from the amount of alcohol he had consumed, "And what about you Angel?"

The Banshees all called out in unison, "Because she's no Angel!" Stacie bowed in her seat and waved as if accepting an award.

Donald spoke up, "Kaz gave her that one, because the first time we all went out as a squadron, Stacie got drunk and started telling stories that she always started with, 'Well I'm no Angel, but…'"

Jesse laughed along with everyone else and then pointed to Beca, "Well Nomad over there got her name, not only because of her anti-social nature, but because she always looks mad." Jesse looked up at Beca glaring at him. "Kind of like that, yet when drunk insists that she's 'No-mad bro.'"

Beca threw a bar towel at him. "One time Jesse! I said it one time!" The group continued trading stories back and forth while Beca and Luke kept the drinks coming.

Eventually everyone started drifting off to do different things. Cynthia Rose started a card game with Luke, Jesse and Donald. Stacie and Jesse moved behind the bar while Chloe pulled Benji on the dance floor with Jessica, Denise and Ashley. Sophia went over to the dart board where Beca was throwing darts rather unsuccessfully. Beca collected her darts from the board and walked back to where Sophia was standing contemplating her.

Beca eyed her before lining up to throw again.

"So why didn't you tell me it was her?" Sophia crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, waiting for Beca to reply.

"Her what?" Beca feigned ignorance.

Sophia scoffed, "The one that broke your heart. You know, the one that had you playing that angsty music until I thought I would have to strangle you in your sleep?"

Beca shrugged, "Nothing to talk about. It's over."

Sophia nodded over to where Chloe was trying to show Benji how to move his hips unsuccessfully to the music that was playing. Beca smiled despite herself.

Sophia nodded sagely, "Yup, looks like it to me." Beca just rolled her eyes in response. Sophia ignored Beca and continued, "Red is still way into you and you haven't stopped watching her all night."

"Not gonna happen Sophia, so just drop it."

Sophia grinned, "You sure? So you wouldn't mind if I went over there and danced with her then?"

Beca looked up sharply, the dart she just released embedding itself a foot off of the target.

"That's what I thought. Stop being stupid and go talk to her. I mean even Aubrey is letting her hair down a bit tonight." Sophia nodded over to where Aubrey and Stacie were leaning across the bar and Aubrey was whispering something into Stacie's ear.

Beca glared at back at her, "Stacie's just going to get herself hurt, when Aubrey remembers she's Aubrey."

Sophia threw her hands up in frustration, "Suit yourself. I'm going to go have fun." Sophia turned and went over and started dancing with the others. Luke and Donald soon left the card game and Denise and Ashley took their place. Luke grabbed Beca pulling her in to dance with the rest of the group from where she had been nursing her drink, trying to sober up a little. When Luke convinced her to hit the dance floor she pounded it back and followed him. Drunk enough not to care anymore, Beca started dancing with the rest, laughing when Stacie sidled up and started an exaggerated bump and grind that had Aubrey pulling her back.

A little while later Beca had lost track of time and how many drinks she had. The pilot had stumbled over to the bar to down a glass of water and was watching as Aubrey and Stacie danced with a blushing Benji while Donald whistled and added a beat box rhythm to the song.

Beca was surprised when she realized she was actually having fun. She took a moment to look around seeing Sophia laughing with Jessica and Luke chatting with Ashley while Jesse helped Cynthia Rose set up the next card game. She started a little when she realized Chloe had sidled up next to her, Beca smiled inwardly at Chloe's ability to stealthily invade her space. The ginger softly bumped her hip against Beca's.

"Having fun?" Chloe's blue eyes twinkled and her hair was a little tousled from dancing. Beca looked away willing her hand to stay where it was and not brush back the lock of hair from Chloe's forehead like she wanted to. Instead she shrugged and put her smirk back in place.

"Yeah Beale, this is okay." Chloe stayed quiet for a moment and then nodded, backing up and putting some space between them. Beca let out a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding. She started fidgeting with her hands before realizing what she was doing and going stock still. Chloe looked at her, and then down at her hands before her bright blue eyes locked with Beca's navy ones.

"We could talk you know." The ginger offered quietly.

Beca looked away swallowing hard. The alcohol haze made it hard to think past the attraction she still held for the woman next to her. No matter how hard she tried to push it down, it was there still burning low and hot.

When Beca didn't respond Chloe looked away sadly and Beca cursed silently, upset that she had put that look on Chloe's face and even more upset with herself that she cared.

"Chlo…I…" she started to stammer out.

Chloe smiled sadly back at her before reaching out and squeezing her hand briefly before letting go, the quick touch making Beca wonder if she had imagined it, though the feeling of the redhead's hand ghosting over hers remained.

"It's okay Beca. I'm sorry."

Before Beca could respond, her hazy mind still processing the feeling of Chloe's hand on hers, the redhead walked away and slipped quietly out of the room.

"Go after her dummy." Beca jumped and turned around to face Aubrey.

"What?"

"You heard me, go after her." Aubrey folded her arms and swayed a little.

Beca frowned, "You're drunk."

Aubrey shrugged and Beca raised an eyebrow at the very uncharacteristic motion for the blonde.

Beca knit her brows, "It's not that simple."

The blonde shrugged again before offering, "Never is." The blond nodded over to where Stacie was chatting with Benji and Luke. Her eyes softened as her gaze lingered.

The young Marine saw an opportunity to deflect Aubrey's attention, "Yeah, what's going on with you and Conrad there, Posen?"

Aubrey glanced back at Beca as if she had forgotten she was there. She narrowed her eyes, "We aren't talking about me."

Beca countered, "Now we are."

Aubrey looked genuinely confused if still tipsy, "Why do you care?"

"Stacie…she's a friend and uh…you know what - never mind." Beca brushed her bangs back from her forehead in frustration.

Aubrey still had her brows knit together frowning, "It's not that simple."

Beca snorted, "Yeah."

Aubrey suddenly smiled a little, "But that's okay sometimes."

Beca started to agree, expecting Aubrey to have said something different, then looked up, "What?"

Aubrey waved her off and started off towards Stacie before being stopped by a death grip on her arm, looking down she realized Beca had stopped her.

"Don't fuck with her Posen." Beca blew out a breath in frustration and continued, "She's more sensitive than she lets on okay?"

Aubrey looked at the Beca as if she had never seen her before, green eyes suddenly bright and clear. The older woman raised an eyebrow, offering sincerely, "Chloe's not as carefree as she seems either."

Beca pulled her hand back and folded her arms, looking away, "Yeah."

Aubrey watched Beca for a beat longer before setting off towards Stacie, weaving slightly. Beca wondered if it was wise for her to have doubled Aubrey's drinks then laughed off her concern as Aubrey hugged Stacie, earning incredulous looks from half of the Banshees at the open display of affection from the normally reserved blonde.

Stacie was surprised at having an armful of affectionate blonde but returned her embrace lightly. "Okay drunky, let's get you back to your room." She locked eyes with Beca over Aubrey's shoulder who gave her a slight smile in return.

Aubrey tugged on Stacie's hand leading her into the passageway where she promptly pushed the other woman up against the wall, running her hands up the lanky brunette's body until her hands cupped Stacie's face. Leaning in slowly, Aubrey kissed Stacie with a quiet passion. Stacie ran her hands up Aubrey's arms until her hands rested on the blonde woman's wrists. Stacie bit down gently on Aubrey's lower lip and then soothed it with her tongue. Aubrey pulled back a little smiling.

Stacie shook her head and pulled Aubrey's hands away from her face suddenly remembering they were in the middle of a hallway and that sober Aubrey would be horrified. Aubrey leaned back in to capture Stacie's lips again but Stacie side-stepped nimbly, pulling the blonde along down the hallway.

"Let's get you back."

Aubrey pouted, "Don't want to go back." She trailed her fingers lightly up Stacie's arm. Stacie stopped and looked at Aubrey.

Her voice took on a low needy tone, "Aubrey we can't."

Aubrey nuzzled her face into Stacie's neck, whispering her lips against the brunette's pulse point. Stacie groaned at the contact then broke away, keeping Aubrey's hand in hers and setting off towards their rooms while mentally counting down in a vain attempt at calming her desire.

Thankfully Aubrey complied this time and followed Stacie until they were almost to Aubrey's room. The blonde pilot pulled Stacie to a stop and tugged on their joined hands.

"Hey, we're almost there," Stacie said soothingly trying to pull Aubrey back into motion.

"Come here." Was all Aubrey replied as she opened a door behind them and slipped inside. Stacie hesitated then shook her head, following Aubrey into the room. As soon as she was across the threshold Aubrey was back in her arms pulling her inside by tugging on the brunette's shirt collar.

"Aubrey!" Stacie squeaked in surprise as the blonde shut the door. "Whose room are we in?" Stacie looked around worriedly. It was one of the suites that were designed originally for civilians who brought their families on the long voyages. Due to the length of the war the science missions were undermanned leaving most of these quarters unoccupied, which Stacie hoped was the case here.

Aubrey reattached her mouth to Stacie's pulse point and bit down lightly causing the brunette's eyes to flutter shut at the sensation, all concerns about the room forgotten. Aubrey kissed along Stacie's jawline then claimed her lips in a searing kiss, dropping her hands to the brunette's waist she pulled her off of the wall and turned her around, not breaking contact and started backing Stacie across the room towards the bed on the far wall.

As soon as Stacie was backed up against the low bed, Aubrey pushed her down, quickly straddling her and framing her face with her hands. Stacie pulled away a bit, placing a hand gently on Aubrey's chest and tried to catch her breath.

When Aubrey leaned in again to continue their kiss, Stacie pulled back, "Aubrey, we can't."

Aubrey leaned back, surprise etched on her face. "What? I thought this is what you wanted?"

Stacie wrapped her arms loosely holding the blonde in place on her lap.

"You're drunk and I do, but not like this."

Aubrey smiled and kissed Stacie gently all traces of her former inebriation gone, "I'm not drunk Stacie."

Stacie looked up in confusion, "What?"

Aubrey chuckled low in her throat, "I know you asked Beca to double my drinks."

Clearing her throat, Stacie looked sheepish and afraid, "It wasn't to get in your pants, I swear. I just wanted you to be able to relax and thought it would help. You've been so stressed and with everyone thinking…"

Aubrey cut off any further babbling with another gentle kiss and then pulled back.

"Relax, I'm not mad. And you're not very stealthy, I knew what you guys were up to."

"But you drank all those drinks? And you were … relaxed." Aubrey cut Stacie off by tracing her fingers lightly across the brunette's full lips.

"Do you really want to talk about this now?" She asked. Stacie paused then looked shocked, realizing what she was keeping them from doing.

She couldn't help but ask one final time, "You're sure though?"

Aubrey smiled a little sadly at the fear in the brunette's tone and knew she was the reason for her trepidation. Firmly she said, "I do want this Stacie. I want you."

Stacie didn't wait for further clarification but crashed her lips into Aubrey's and used her leverage to swing Aubrey around onto the bed, finally breaking the kiss, hovering over the blonde and smiling widely. Aubrey reached up and pushed Stacie's long hair back from her face and curled her hand around the other woman's neck pulling her down and moaning her approval as Stacie's tongue fought hers for dominance in the kiss.

When the door shut behind Aubrey and Stacie, CR held out her hand, Ashely reached in the pocket of her track pants and pulled out a stack of credits that she transferred to the smugly smiling woman. This was quickly followed by Denise and Donald handing over a wad of credits as well. CR split the pile up and paid out to Jess and Benji.

"You guys bet on them hooking up?" Sophia asked incredulously.

CR looked over at the other woman, "No, we bet on when they would hook up, not if."

Jess smiled, "Told you guys she'd surprise you."

Ashley narrowed her eyes at Jess, "Did you have inside info from Chloe or something?"

Jess shook her head, "Nope." Then looking pensive, "Chloe doesn't really talk to me about stuff anymore."

Donald broke in, "Okay guys enough gossip, who wants another drink?"

Luke moved back behind the bar and Sophia walked over to Beca.

"What?" Beca glared at the other woman.

Sophia held her hands up in mock surrender. "Easy killer, I come in peace."

Beca's only answer was to raise her eyebrows in disbelief.

Sophia took a long look at Beca who was standing there, shoulders stiff, eyebrows raised, looking so uncomfortable and ready to bolt, or fight.

Sophia ducked her head and softened her voice, "What is going on Beca?"

Beca looked away, unwilling to meet the older woman's eyes, "Nothing."

"Beca, talk to me. You just look like you are ready to jump out of your skin."

Beca still wouldn't meet the Sophia's eyes. The other woman knew something was going on but was worried about pushing too hard and spooking Beca.

Finally Beca spoke, almost too soft for Sophia to hear, "It's just all this." She waved her hand jerkily to indicate the room.

Sophia looked around confused, trying to understand what Beca was getting at. She remained silent hoping Beca would elaborate.

"Just, everything. We're just supposed to go back to normal now? Even though everything's changed?" Beca wrapped her arms around her midsection, looking small and young. "What is even normal anymore?"

Sophia's heart ached. She knew what Beca was getting at, but was at a loss as to how to answer. She looked around and pushed a lock of unruly hair behind her ear.

"I don't know Bec, I think we just keep going you know?" Sophia trailed off.

Beca scoffed, "Yeah keep moving forward right? What the fuck does that even mean? We'll keep moving until its Stacie in a cell, or …" she trailed off unwilling to give voice to her nightmares.

Sophia realized that she had to be imagining this squadron in the place of theirs. With Chloe beaten and bloody, or Stacie or Jesse again.

Sophia remained silent and Beca continued quietly, "Posen doesn't know, Stacie doesn't know. None of them know what it's like. The hell that waits. Or they wouldn't be so cavalier."

Sophia shook her head, willing her own memories away, "Beca, they might not know everything, but they have an idea. And they have lost people." Sophia looked over to the group that was laughing with each other, watching as Jess was telling some story, waving her hands to illustrate a point. "Maybe they know better than we think and are just living their lives anyway. Grabbing on to whatever happiness they can."

Beca stayed silent watching the antics of the other pilots. Sophia sensing that this conversation was only going to get darker changed the subject.

"What's your beef with Posen anyway? I mean she is a little high strung, but the way you described her, I kind of expected her to breathe fire or something."

Beca looked at her and rolled her eyes, "She's just a bitch okay?"

It was Sophia's turn to raise her eyebrows and fold her arms.

Beca frowned, "Look she was just always an ass to me. She was my cadre back at the station and was always yelling at me for one thing or another." Realizing how lame her explanation was, she trailed off.

Sophia smirked, "So she was doing her job?"

Beca waved her off, "Look it's a lot of stuff okay."

"Like maybe she knew you were banging her best friend who just happened to be an upperclassman too?"

Beca glared, "Dude. She was an ass to Chloe all the time too."

Sophia smiled, "So you and Red were a thing."

Beca's eyes widened, "I didn't say that."

Sophia's smile grew wider, "Didn't have to." Then the older woman sobered, "Plus, I saw how Chloe was when they came for us. How they both were." Sophia locked gazes with Beca, "They both care Beca. Whatever you think, I know they both care."

Beca shook her head, "Chloe picked Aubrey over me, Soph. Broke it off because she was worried about what Aubrey would think." Then more bitterly, "The Aubrey that is now fraternizing with Stacie."

Sophia couldn't resist, "Fraternizing, is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

Beca glared in response.

Sophia held her hands up, "Right, sorry. Couldn't resist. Look Beca, I'm not saying any of this is perfect. Just maybe that people change, okay?"

Beca snorted.

Sophia pressed on, "Whatever happens, we deserve to find whatever happiness we can Beca. Now, we have been way too serious for too long and my buzz has worn off. I'm going to go fix that."

Beca watched as Sophia went back to the others, grabbing a fresh drink from Luke before sitting down at the table. Still feeling restless and not wanting to be surrounded by people she slipped out of the room, walking slowly back towards the stateroom. She stopped as she rounded a corner and saw Stacie disappearing into a room with Aubrey. Shaking her head she hurried past the room not wanting to overhear anything or anyone.

Turning down the corridor that led to their stateroom, she saw Chloe walking back from the showers, clad in a black t-shirt and red shorts, carrying her towel and shower caddy. The older woman had her head down and was moving slowly, she looked up to find Beca staring at her and her steps faltered. Recovering quickly she plastered a smile on her face and picked up her pace a bit.

Beca realized she was standing outside their door. Not wanting to appear like she was running away, no matter that her brain was screaming for her to escape, she waited as the other woman approached and held the door open for her.

"Hey, party over?" Chloe offered in way of greeting as she entered the room with Beca trailing in behind her.

Beca ran her hand through her hair, "Um, winding down I guess."

Chloe busied herself with hanging up her towel and putting away her shower things. She reached for the water bottle on her desk with her left hand, trying to ignore how her hand shook until it gripped the bottle. When she turned back around Beca was still in the same place, watching her with concern.

Chloe took a drink to keep from caving in to her innate need to fill this silence between them.

"Chlo…" Beca started, watching her drink from the bottle.

"Becs…" Chloe couldn't help the impish smile that curled at the corners of her mouth. Remembering better times between the two of them.

Beca frowned and nodded at her hand holding the bottle. "Everything okay?"

It was Chloe's turn to frown, "Yeah, why?"

Beca blew out a frustrated breath running her hand through her hair again, then looked back at Chloe, "You suck at lying Beale."

Chloe continued to frown, "You suck at using your words, Mitchell." She paused then continued, "So, guess that makes us even?" She left the question hanging in the air, charged with meaning beyond just this conversation.

Beca folded her arms and stared at Chloe, "No. Not even close. But what's up with your hand?"

Chloe held out her right hand looking at it and then at Beca questioningly, "Nothing, why?"

Beca grunted and crossed the room invading Chloe's space which caused the other woman's breath to hitch. Reaching for the bottle she took it out of Chloe's left hand and leaned around the woman to place it on the desk.

Chloe recovered from her momentary shock at having Beca approach, "Hey! I was drinking that."

Beca locked eyes with her and then grabbed Chloe's left hand pulling it between her own, "Hold this out."

Beca released Chloe's hand and the woman immediately retracted it, holding it to her side.

Beca sighed, "Chlo."

"Beca, its nothing."

Beca grabbed for Chloe's hand again, the other woman tried to dodge, but Beca had her backed up against her desk. She had her right hand on Beca's chest and held her other hand behind her back. The shorter woman was leaning into her and Chloe felt Beca's heart beating a steady rhythm against her palm.

Beca paused and then looked up at Chloe, they were close enough that if she closed the distance she could claim Chloe's lips despite the light pressure of Chloe's hand on her chest. She shook her head and pulled on Chloe's elbow.

"Chloe, let me see."

"No."

Beca huffed, "If it is okay, why are you hiding it?"

Chloe couldn't help it, she felt trapped so she snapped out, "Why do you care?"

Beca sighed and hooked her thumb at her own chest, "Queen of avoidance here remember Beale? So that won't work on me." Then softer she said, "You know why."

Chloe was agitated, "I know? Maybe I don't Beca."

Beca just stared calmly into Chloe's stormy blue eyes. Knowing she would kick herself later she closed the distance and pressed her lips against Chloe's, tangling her hand in the taller woman's hair. Chloe stood stock still in surprise, but felt Beca's heartbeat start racing against her palm. Chloe pushed at the other woman.

Beca allowed herself to be pushed back slightly locking eyes with Chloe's again. She frowned, realizing that Chloe looked scared. Gently she brushed back the lock of hair that had been teasing her all night from the other woman's face and captured her lips again. Chloe started kissing her back this time and Beca dropped her other hand to the redhead's waist gripping and pulling her into a tighter embrace.

Air soon became a concern and Beca broke the kiss pulling back slightly. Chloe dropped her head on Beca's shoulder and nuzzled into the shorter woman's neck. Using the redhead's momentary lassitude, Beca reached for Chloe's left hand and brought it up between them, holding it against her stomach. She could feel it trembling in her hand. Chloe's other hand was on her back and she felt the woman's grip tighten.

"Tell me Chloe." Beca felt the redhead sigh, her warm breath ghosting over her neck. She pushed down the desire that arose and asked again. "Chloe, talk to me." Grunting a little at the irony of those words coming from her.

Chloe pushed back and looked down at her hand being held in Beca's.

"It comes and goes."

"How long?" Beca asked.

Chloe knit her brows and then sighed, shoulders slumping, "Awhile now. It got worse this last time."

Beca was confused, "Last time?"

Chloe looked away, "This last time I was shot."

Feeling sick, angry and scared all at once, Beca started a bit and then asked softly, "Shot? As in multiple times?"

Chloe nodded still not looking at her. Beca couldn't believe it. She blurted out, "Does Aubrey know?"

Chloe retracted her hand and looked at her in alarm, "No! You can't tell her!"

Incredulous that Chloe would keep this to herself Beca asked, "Why?"

"She worries enough as it is. She would blame herself."

Beca shook her head, "That makes no sense."

Chloe tried a different tactic, "Look, it hasn't affected my aim, or any of my abilities okay?" She rushed to make Beca understand, "If it did, I would say something, I wouldn't risk letting the Banshees down. I promise."

Beca looked like she was about to continue the argument, but Sophia stumbled into the room, smiling widely when she saw how close the two of them were standing. Beca backed up out of Chloe's space.

Sophia waved her hands sloppily indicating the two of them, "Don' lemme innerup ladieees"

Chloe smiled amused despite the situation and Beca huffed in annoyance. "Oh my god, you were fine when I left."

Sophia smiled and swayed further into the room pinching Beca's cheeks. Beca batted at Sophia's hands.

"Shots. We did shots Becs. Lotsa shots." Looking over at Chloe who was smiling back at her, Sophia giggled to herself and mumbled "Ride-her." Then she looked back at Beca "Hey Becs, cowgirl up!"

Beca paled, "Dude. Stop." Beca looked over at Chloe who had now crossed her arms and was watching them both intently.

"You told her?" The other woman asked softly.

Beca looked over at her in surprise as she tried to steer an unwilling Sophia to her bunk. "What? No! She just figured it out."

Chloe raised an eyebrow.

"Dude I swear."

The redhead smirked at her, "Aubrey knows."

Now it was Beca's turn to be incredulous, "What? You told her?"

Chloe shrugged echoing Beca's words back at her, "She just figured it out."

Sophia flopped face down in her bed, with her legs hanging off the edge. Beca was struggling to remove the other woman's shoes.

Muffled by the pillow but still able to be heard Sophia sing-songed, "Sooooo obviooooussss."

"Whatever." Beca mumbled and finally won the battle with Sophia's shoes. She pushed the woman's legs fully on the bed and then turned to find Chloe watching her with a contemplative look on her face.

"What?" Beca asked.

Chloe kept the same serious expression, "So what is this?" Beca looked up at Sophia and then back at Chloe confused.

Sighing Chloe waved a hand indicating the two of them, "Not her, us."

Beca ran a hand through her hair and then looked at the floor, "I don't know." She looked up as Chloe looked away.

"Right." Was all the redhead said she turned to get in her own bunk.

Beca couldn't believe that Chloe was going to just drop this, but couldn't think how to even begin the conversation even she knew they needed to have.

Chloe looked at her and seeing that Beca was at a loss for what to do next, decided to take pity on the other woman.

"Look, you're not ready. I get it." Chloe propped her head on hand, laying on her side as Beca looked up at her, "Plus, I know me saying I'm sorry doesn't even begin to cut it."

"Chlo, I…" Beca began but Chloe cut her off.

"No pressure Beca. I do want to apologize and I will…but I don't think either of us is there yet."

Beca looked at the redhead who was staring down sadly at her. Nodding she went and turned off the light, climbing into her bunk and trying push everything out of her head so she could sleep. Her lips still tingled from kissing Chloe which made it hard.

She heard Chloe turn and face the wall, sighing while Sophia snored softly in the other bunk. She sighed softly to herself at the mess this was and drifted off with thoughts of red hair and bright eyes.


	13. Chapter 13

Aubrey lifted her head groggily, feeling a pleasant ache in her shoulders among other places. Her wristcomm was buzzing softly indicating a waiting message for her. The blonde realized she was sprawled on top of Stacie in a tangle of limbs. She raised her gaze and found Stacie grinning back at her, shifting slightly she silenced the buzzing on her wrist then looked back at the cheekily grinning woman.

"What?"

Stacie answered by tightening her embrace. Aubrey leaned in to kiss her good morning. Stacie hummed her approval into the kiss and felt Aubrey smile against her lips. The blonde pulled back and asked again,

"What's so funny?"

Stacie answered shyly, "Not funny. Just happy that you stayed."

Aubrey looked away, frowning, with red tinging her cheeks.

Feeling the mood might be getting a little too serious and worried about spooking Aubrey, Stacie joked lightly, "I could pretend to be asleep, if you wanted to make your escape."

Aubrey just regarded the brunette sadly. "I know you expected me to run."

Stacie nodded gently, "Not denying it, I mean it would have hurt, but I would have understood if you did."

"You deserve better from your girlfriend." Suddenly realizing what she said Aubrey looked alarmed stammering out, "I meant that…um…"

"Whoa breathe there Posen." Stacie smiled, tamping down on her giddiness at hearing Aubrey use the word 'girlfriend.' Suddenly turning uncharacteristically shy the brunette continued softly, "I mean you know I like sex, like having sex and I won't apologize for that." Aubrey still looked worried, unsure where this was going and still internally panicking over her verbal slip so Stacie tightened her embrace reassuringly and continued. "My rule was always never more than three nights. So yeah, I've had sex, but haven't really done the 'make love' thing so much."

Aubrey was frowning so Stacie shifted upward and captured Aubrey's lips in a gentle kiss, "That is what this is to me Aubrey. I'd love to be your girlfriend, if you'll let me be."

Aubrey bent down and kissed Stacie back, "I want that. But we have to have rules." The blonde twitched in surprise when Stacie laughed a full and throaty laugh, squeezing her tightly.

Aubrey frowned, "What?"

Stacie replied, "Does it make me sick if I told you that makes me feel so much better?"

Aubrey deepened her frown and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Stacie loosened her grip and waved her hand indicating the position they were in, "Come on Posen, last night was a little bit out of character for us don't you think?" When Aubrey only continued to frown at her Stacie rushed to explain, "I mean I was all sensitive and you were all sexy…you laying down the law right now, talking about rules just makes me feel like the Universe is spinning the right way again, okay?"

Smirking now at the brunette's explanation she lowered her hand to Stacie's hip and then started tickling the brunette, eliciting a squeal and they both rolled around trying to pin the other. Long minutes later, the two women were breathless but Aubrey had come out on top and had the lanky brunette pinned to the mattress beneath her, both women were breathing heavily.

"So you're saying I'm controlling?"

Grinning, Stacie answered by exaggeratedly looking at their current position with Aubrey pinning her arms above her head and raising an eyebrow asked, "What would you call it?"

Aubrey's eyes darkened and she ground her hips into the brunette's causing Stacie's eyes to flutter shut, "I'd call it knowing what I want."

"Uh, yeah okay." Stacie rushed to agree, hoping Aubrey would continue what she was doing. Aubrey's wristcomm buzzed again. The blonde sat back, pressing the side of the device and reading the text. Stacie rubbed her thumbs across the front of Aubrey's hips, trying to wait patiently.

After a moment Aubrey looked down at the brunette, obviously trying to come to a decision.

Stacie knit her brows, "What is it?"

Aubrey looked away for a moment then back at her, "XO wants to meet with the Captains."

Stacie looked unhappy at this news, "Now? That's mean, calling a meeting after _some_ of us were drinking all night." Alluding to Aubrey only pretending to drink last night.

Aubrey bent down and kissed Stacie until the brunette's hips started bucking of their own accord and then pulled back, "That's why she waited till now, she was being nice."

Stacie groaned at the lack of contact as Aubrey stood up. The blonde held her hand out waiting until the other woman realized what she was doing and scrambled to take it.

"These suites come with showers, want to wash my back?" Stacie's laugh was the only response as she trailed Aubrey into the bathroom.

Beca opened her eyes slowly, mouth feeling like cotton and rolled over to see Chloe pulling on her flightsuit. She watched the redhead finish zipping it up and then check her wristcomm. They both jumped a little as Aubrey breezed into the room still wearing the clothes she had on last night though her damp hair was tied back in a bun. Even though Chloe's back was to her Beca could see the redhead's body begin what Beca thought of as her "happy dance" where she couldn't quite remain still or contain her excitement. It reminded Beca of the puppy she had when she was younger.

Aubrey frowned at Chloe and held up her hand forestalling any comment, "Not a word, Chloe."

"But Bree!" Chloe whined in a stage whisper that wasn't all that quiet. At that moment Aubrey looked up and locked eyes with Beca.

"Yeah Bree, better let Beale there say her piece before she explodes."

Aubrey only frowned in response to Beca's sarcasm and pulled her flightsuit out of her locker. Chloe stiffened then moved to pull her shoes on not looking back, abandoning whatever she was going to say about Aubrey spending the night with Stacie.

Unable to contain her curiosity Beca broke the silence, "What's going on?"

Aubrey and Chloe locked eyes in a silent conversation then Chloe frowned and turned to Beca answering curtly, "Meeting with the XO."

"It's freaky the way you two do that you know."

Chloe couldn't help but respond in confusion, "Do what?"

"The whole mind meld talking without talking thing." Beca slowly sat up and dangled her legs over the edge of her bunk.

Chloe looked up at her still a little confused. Aubrey was finished throwing on her flightsuit and grabbed Chloe's arm. "Come on, we're going to be late." The blonde threw a final warning look over her shoulder at Beca as she pulled Chloe out of the room.

Beca shrugged and laid back down only to smile wryly when she heard Sophia groan. She jumped down from her bunk and filled a water bottle from the sink handing it silently up to her friend.

Sophia sat up and looked blearily at Beca, "Why'd you let me drink that much?"

Beca smirked, "Right, cause I'm in charge here."

The other woman slumped back onto her bunk groaning, "I hate you."

Still smirking Beca pulled on Sophia's foot that was hanging over the edge of the bunk, "Come on, let's get some grease into you."

Sophia groaned but allowed Beca to pull her out of bed with the promise of hangover curing food.

Beca entered the squadron's Wardroom ahead of an intensely hungover Sophia. Luke and Jesse were already seated at the table, tucking into plates full of scrambled eggs and bacon. Jesse poured more ketchup over his eggs and smiled in greeting as the two women entered.

"You know they grow that bacon in a petri dish right?" Beca flopped down in the seat next to Luke and looked pointedly at Jesse's plate. He shrugged and gave her his half smile in answer.

Sophia had poured herself a cup of coffee and slumped bonelessly in the seat across from Luke. Jesse leaned over, "Rough night there Daniels?"

Sophia just grunted at him and laid her head on her arm, occasionally lifting her head to drink her coffee before slumping back down in the seat. One of the Food Service Attendants came out from the kitchen and smiled as they took Beca and Sophia's breakfast order. Beca grimaced when Sophia asked for extra bacon.

"Dude, I thought you were trying to be a vegetarian or something."

Sophia cracked an eyelid open, "Like you said it is grown in a Petri dish…"

Beca just eyed her in disbelief then turned as the FSA came back from the kitchen carrying their plates. Smiling Beca thanked the woman for both of them and grinned as Sophia picked up a fork and proceeded to eat without lifting her head.

Jesse laughed then looked to Beca, "Hey where's Chloe?" Beca glanced up sharply at him trying to gauge where he was going with this, a warning flashing in her eyes. Jesse pretended not to notice and waited patiently for her to answer.

Luke offered around a mouthful of eggs, "I didn't see her leave the party last night, but I think everyone else is still asleep. Sophia broke in, "Chloe was gone when I woke up." She smirked playfully, some color returning to her cheeks as the greasy food started soaking up her alcohol, "I don't think Aubrey ever made it back."

Beca huffed in annoyance and focused on her plate, really not interested in gossiping about Aubrey and Chloe.

"They had a meeting with the XO this morning." The slim brunette looked up and continued thoughtfully, "I'm guessing you guys weren't invited.?"

Luke and Sophia both checked their wristcomms and traded questioning looks.

"Nope. Nothing on mine."

Sophia knit her brows, "Mine either."

Both Beca and Jesse bristled, "This is stupid, you guys are Captains too." Beca pushed her plate away, suddenly not very hungry.

Luke looked at her a moment before softly saying, "We still have to earn our place here Becky." Beca just rolled her eyes at his deliberate attempt at riling her up.

Jesse took up the conversation, "Yeah but it is like they don't trust us. We're good pilots."

Sophia smiled, "We're awesome pilots, but I get it. They have to careful. It sucks but I get it."

"If they put me with fucking Bumper I am going to be pissed." Beca growled already angry at the imaginary scenario in her head.

Cocking an eyebrow at her, Sophia asked, "You'd rather fly with Aubrey?"

Beca relented a little, "She's at least a decent pilot."

Jesse looked as if he was about to reply when the door to the wardroom opened and Aubrey, Chloe, Donald and Bumper entered. Beca frowned, something seemed off with them, her stomach flipped a little in worry, but she remained silent.

"Hey guys we were looking for you." Chloe smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

Aubrey pushed past her and walked up to Luke and Sophia. "We need to borrow you both." She eyed their mostly empty plates. Jesse and Beca exchanged looks.

Jesse was the first to stand, "Well, I guess that is our cue to leave. Come on Becs." Beca stood and noticed Chloe shoot a glare at Jesse when he placed his hand on her back to guide her past the Captains before smoothing out her expression.

Aubrey threw over her shoulder to the retreating pilots, "We have a briefing in Ready Room 2 in two hours. Don't be late." Jesse nodded in acknowledgement, Beca locked eyes with Aubrey briefly and then slipped through the door.

Turning back to Luke and Sophia who were now sitting up a little straighter. They realized this wasn't a social call.

"What's up?" Sophia broke the awkward silence.

Aubrey looked at the floor then met both Luke's and Sophia's concerned gazes. "We aren't pulling into Waypoint Station."

To their credit both Luke and Sophia remained silent, pushing down their disappointment though their shoulders tensed as they waited for Aubrey to continue.

Donald walked up next to Aubrey, "You'll get the rest of the story in the briefing later, but we're going to take the fight to the Gaks."

Chloe continued, "The XO wants us to come up with a training plan to get you guys integrated into the squadron."

Aubrey nodded, "Starting with simulator runs after the briefing."

Luke crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, "How long do we have?"

"Maybe a week." Donald ran his fingers through his hair and traded looks with Aubrey.

Sophia noticed and cut off whatever silent conversation they were having, "Just tell us. Whatever it is, Luke and I are adults."

Aubrey had the good grace to look a little sheepish, "We have to fly an evaluation run with all of you. Get a sense of where you're at."

Luke sighed and leaned forward, "Yeah, we figured as much."

Chloe fidgeted a bit with the tablecloth in front of her, "We wanted to get your input before just assigning this stuff out. We know you guys are good pilots."

"Yeah but we're damaged goods now, so have to make sure we haven't lost our nerve right?" Sophia's comment came out with more bite than intended, but Chloe didn't flinch, instead she leaned into the other woman's space locking eyes with her.

"You'd do the same in our place."

Luke ran his hand through his close cropped hair, interrupting the intense stare down, "Yeah we would."

Donald sat down at the table and the rest of the group followed suit. He pulled out a notepad, "Okay let's get started, we want to have this ready for the XO before the brief."

He pointed to a rough outline that he had already drawn up, "So we were thinking that you and Sophia would fly with Aubrey and I…"

They spent the next two hours working up a detailed plan of training missions. Sophia looked down at the document and gnawed on her lower lip, Beca definitely wasn't going to like this one bit. She looked up and caught Aubrey watching her.

"It's for the best." The blonde offered quietly. The others were locked in a discussion about how to set up the squad tactics drill and weren't paying attention to the two women.

Sophia nodded at her, "We'll all have to adjust."

Looking back down at the paper, Sophia prayed that the next live mission wasn't the end of them all. With really no time to gel as a squadron, they were going to be taking a huge leap of faith in trusting each other.


	14. Chapter 14

The XO raised her eyebrow quizzically. In front of her was the training plan proposal her Captains had drawn up. She flipped through the pages again secretly pleased with their efforts. She had expected to them to resist working together, but the document in front of her showed that her fears were unfounded. Looking up she fixed them with an assessing gaze.

"We can make any adjustments you need ma'am." Donald offered when the XO remained silent.

Aubrey was quick to follow his comment, "We also outlined several scenarios we want to fly after our initial simulator runs."

Luke and Sophia had remained silent so far, allowing Donald and Aubrey to run the briefing and discussion, content to watch and learn how the dynamics of this squadron worked.

The XO folded her hands in front of herself on the desk and leaned forward. "You put a lot of thought into this, I don't need to make any changes yet." She regarded each of them in turn, "Get through the initial flights and then we can revisit this tomorrow evening for any changes. Raising her wrist she checked the time. "Okay, time to brief the rest of the team."

The pilots stood, following the XO as she made her way to Ready Room Two. They entered the room, the rest of the squadron was sprawled out over the seats, bantering back and forth. When the XO walked in the pilots jumped to their feet. The XO walked to the podium at the front of the room and the Captains filed into the empty seats at the front.

Standing at the front of the room, the XO took in a steadying breath, unhappy at having to deliver the news to the eager faces in front of her.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am afraid I have bad news." LT Col Abernathy wasn't one to drag out things like this so she continued without delay, "We will not be pulling into Waypoint Station."

Everyone except for the Captains broke out into disbelieving questions and expressions of disappointment. The XO waited patiently for the uproar to die down, understanding their consternation. She had faith that they would bounce back, they always did, but she knew that they were weary of this long deployment just as she was.

Holding up a hand, she silenced them, "I know you are as disappointed with this news as I am. Please understand that this change was not made lightly and that there is a purpose for it." She paused for breath blocking out the disgruntled looks on their faces. "Our last mission was successful, not only in bringing back our Marines, it also yielded valuable intel that we are now in a position to act on. We're going to be following up on that information. I don't need to tell you how important this is not only to us, and the war, but to our chances for survival in this galaxy."

The news didn't really change how disappointed her pilots were, but hearing that they had a chance to really bring the fight to the Gaks had them sitting forward on their seats listening as the XO filled them in on the schedule of training and familiarization exercises over the next few days. She also informed them that a resupply ship had met them and delivered new aircraft to replace some of their older jets. Getting the new hardware was exciting, and usually hard to come by – especially with how deep into space their patrols took them.

After the briefing she dismissed everyone except for Sophia, Luke, Beca and Jesse. Once the others had filed out of the room she addressed the remaining pilots.

"Look, I know we don't know each other very well, and that I haven't welcomed you properly." She paused and walked out from behind the podium. "The shrinks cleared you for a full return to duty. But the shrinks don't know what this is like, the toll it takes." She made eye contact with each of them in turn pleased when they held her gaze.

"I need you to promise me three things: Number one is if you have an issue with being back on active duty you let me know. There is no shame in needing time or asking for help, especially after what you all went through. Number two is we don't want heroes in our squadron. We want smart pilots who watch their backs and the backs of their fellow pilots. You have nothing to prove to anyone here."

The XO paced a bit in front of them before stopping and making eye contact again, "Number three is to treat Aubrey and Donald as if they were Majors. They have filled in admirably after we lost two amazing leaders." Here she paused and looked directly at Luke and Sophia, "We expect our Captains to step up and do what it takes, but to keep it simple their orders are to be obeyed as if they came from me."

Softening a bit Gail continued, "We're a family here. I know it is still too soon, but we want you to be comfortable here with us. You're all excellent pilots and Marines. And now we're going to give you a chance at getting a little payback."

Luke nodded and addressed her, "Thank you ma'am. We won't disappoint you." Next to him Sophia nodded her agreement.

The XO took one last assessing look, "Right, well grab your gear and get down to the simulators." She left the room and Beca lost no time in whirling on Sophia and Luke.

"Dude, you put me with Bumper?"

Jess crossed his arms and followed with, "Yeah well I'm with Chloe, who hates my guts by the way."

Sophia and Luke exchanged looks before Luke stood up, "Suck it up Becky." Staring at both of them he continued, "Promise us you'll play nice. We have a lot riding on this."

Groaning both Beca and Jesse nodded their agreement.

"Let's go guys, they're waiting." Sophia stood and started towards the door, eager to escape the conversation.

Jesse and Beca still look disgruntled but shuffled out of the room after their friends.

When the pilots entered the simulator room kitted out in their gear they found the other Captains already in the chairs working on the pre-flight checks. Beca looked away when Chloe's eyes caught hers watching and went to the simulator next to Bumper.

"Oh ho ho Mitchell, glad you could make it." Bumper grinned cheekily at her knowing he was getting under her skin. It took everything Beca had not to snark back.

She busied herself by strapping in and starting her own preflight checks. Across the room she could hear Chloe questioning Jesse already about his preflight sequence. She huffed under her breath, did they really think they forgot how to fly?

Once the checks were done Aubrey came over the radio outlining the scenario.

"Banshees, we'll be flying a routine patrol mission simulation. You are expected to treat this as if it was a live event and obey the commands of your Wing Leader. System Failures are possible in this scenario and you are expected to follow all repair protocols."

Aubrey paused a moment then continued, "Tarzan, Rider and Rocky you are with me. Tarzan you are my wingman and Rocky you're Riders. We will be the Gold Team."

Donald keyed his mic next, "Jack, Bumper and Nomad are with me. We're Blue Team. Any questions before we begin? If not give me your ready checks."

Each of the pilots in turn answered with a ready.

The first part of the scenario went well, they ran into a vanilla engagement with a Gak patrol that they handled without much trouble though Beca was fuming over Bumper crossing her firing line, almost getting himself fragged in the process. Jesse handled the targeting system failure that they threw at him without a problem, correctly diagnosing and switching to a secondary system.

On the second leg of the mission, the scenario had them traveling near a debris field that was part of a previous battle. The Gold Team was flying ahead of them and were even with the field almost when Beca noticed a blip near the debris that winked out almost as soon as it appeared on her radar, making her question if she really saw it. When it flashed again she keyed her mic.

"Blue Leader, possible contact at 315 mark 4."

Donald's voice came back immediately, "Nomad, my screen is clear."

Beca tapped the side of her screen, cursing under her breath, she adjusted her system, focusing it on the area and crossed her fingers waiting for the blip to appear again.

The blip reappeared faintly as the radar honed in. Beca saw that it was even with the Gold Team, "Gold Leader possible bogey 317 mark 4 now.

Aubrey's voice came back over the channel, "Negative on contact Nomad."

Beca huffed in frustration, "Switch your screen to narrow field Gold Leader."

Before any response came, Beca's radar came alive with contacts. The system informed her of 12 separate contacts. The Gaks had powered down their systems and used the debris field as cover, now they had the drop on them and were firing within seconds. She saw Gold team engage in evasive maneuvers right away.

Her system blared alarms warnings she was targeted and she broke right, following a sluggish Bumper cursing under her breath for him to hurry up.

"Evasive maneuvers. Don't let them isolate you." Aubrey's steady voice came over the comm system. Beca rolled her eyes in reflex and then yelped as a shot buzzed close to her viewscreen. She switched to the channel she shared with Bumper.

"Bumper, we have to turn and fight."

"Negative, stay on my wing Nomad." Beca seethed at Bumper's terse reply. She was itching to get back into the fight, watching as the Gaks danced around the other pilots. Bumper had them on a trajectory that was leading them away. Beca waited a moment realizing that none of the enemy fighters were following them and then tried again.

"This is bullshit. Bumper turn around."

The radio was silent and then Bumper came across, "Try and keep up Nomad."

Beca was about to cuss Bumper out, recorded channel or not, when he kicked in his ion drive angling his Hellcat back towards the fight. Cursing again Beca engaged her drive, pushing for extra speed to stay on his wing. They were closing in on an angle, Beca saw that over half of the enemy fighters were dogging Jesse and Chloe. Both of them were dodging frantically just barely staying ahead of the enemy laser fire. Beca was so intent on watching them she almost missed Bumper banking abruptly towards Donald who was dealing with two enemies of his own.

Beca gripped her stick flipping a switch on it and arming her missiles in case she could line up a clear shot. It was a risk because in close quarters combat the explosion could easily damage friendlies but if she could get close enough to the Gaks she could maybe even up the odds a bit and take a couple out.

Donald's voice came over the comms, "Duke it out Blue Team. Need to take the heat off of Gold."

Aubrey's clipped tone was the only indication she was stressed, "Watch your angles in this furball. Rider break left for cover."

Beca realized what Aubrey was doing, trying to get the enemies to continue the chase long enough to get them in position for a strafing run. Everyone else was a little out of position, but she and Bumper were positioned perfectly. Telling herself it was useless to argue with Bumper she pulled hard on her stick banking into a tight turn and flying in above Aubrey, adjusting speed to let Chloe and Jesse fly by. She could hear Bumper yelling at her over her comms to get back on his wing but tuned him out and once the enemy aircraft were below she dropped down in, keying into the main channel.

"Valkyrie, pull left, firing Fox Two." Beca saw Aubrey pull her fighter up and away and she launched her missiles, catching one of the trailing enemies with a direct hit that disintegrated him and four of the other alien fighters that were flying with him. The shockwave upended two that recovered quickly and broke off their pursuit of Jesse and Chloe, instead pulling around and heading for Beca.

Cursing Beca pulled up, angling away since she had left herself exposed and the enemy fighters were now closing in on her position. Even though this was a simulation Beca felt the familiar rush of adrenaline hit her system, she pulled her stick erratically banking to try and shake the enemies on her tail.

The comms chirped as Aubrey laid out terse commands, "Blue Leader comeback high. Rider, Rocky Bonzai west enemy. Bumper Bonzai south enemy."

Beca continued her evasive maneuvers, tongue poking slightly out of the corner of her mouth in concentration while she pulled turns that strained the capacity of her inertial dampening system. She knew the others were flying in to pick off the enemies on her tail, she just had to survive. Without warning a bright flash of green light washed over the cockpit sending her Hellcat tumbling, alarms started sounding in the cockpit.

As soon as the light flashed Beca gasped, suddenly lost in the last battle when the Gaks took her. Her chest felt heavy and she tried unsuccessfully to pull air into her lungs as her vision shrunk in on itself. There was a rushing sound in her ears and she splayed her hands out against the edges of the cockpit trying to ground herself as the Hellcat still tumbled out of control.

"NOMAD! REPORT STATUS!" Chloe's voice yelled over the channel, bringing Beca back to herself. Fighting off the disorientation she punched the console switch to try and get her engines started again, fighting back the nausea and shortness of breath. Once she trusted herself to speak Beca responded praying her voice was steady.

"Attempting to restart thrusters. Standby." There that wasn't too bad, Beca knew she sounded off to her own ears, but hoped the others couldn't tell. After toggling the switches for her engines she finally got them to restart, their startup hum helping to calm her racing heartbeat. She flipped another switch and kicked in her thrusters leveling off her flight. The rest of her systems started to power up as part of the automatic restart sequence. Her radar was down and she pulled on her stick to see if she could get a view on the others. The rushing sound was back but she did her best to push it back.

Aubrey's steady voice came over the comms again, "Nomad report status."

Beca shook her head irritated that she was still screwing up. "Valkyrie, thrusters online. System restart initiated. Targeting systems offline."

"Roger Nomad. All enemies accounted for. Form up when able for return to Mother."

Beca couldn't tell for sure but it sounded like Aubrey was relieved. "Roger Valkyrie."

The pilots finished out the simulation, and as the lights came back on in the training room, Beca clambered out of her cockpit, feeling ashamed at her weakness and eager to escape everyone's prying eyes. She should have known that there was no escaping Aubrey.

"Beca wait."

Beca turned back towards Aubrey who was standing by the cockpit of her simulator with an unreadable look. Bumper came up behind her, staring at Beca as she approached.

"Listen Mitchell, you really – " Aubrey whirled on Bumper, cutting off whatever scathing remark he was about to make.

"Not another word." Aubrey hissed under her breath. Whatever look she gave Bumper had him lifting his hands and backing up a step. Beca frowned, uneasy at where this might be going.

Turning back to everyone else and in a more normal tone Aubrey said, "We're going to review the flight recordings and will debrief everyone individually after we are done. You'll be notified when to report to Ready Room 2 for debriefing."

Donald looked over at Aubrey, "I'll get them to bring us dinner in Tactical."

Aubrey nodded her assent and stood with her arms folded waiting for everyone to file out. Chloe locked eyes with her friend for a moment, looking as if she was about to intervene but Aubrey shook her head minutely causing Chloe to sigh. The redhead followed Sophia out the door with a final look at Beca who was busy studying the laces on her boots, while clenching and unclenching her fists.

With an audible click the door closed and Beca rushed to get ahead of whatever lecture Aubrey was about to deliver.

"Listen, I know I screwed up okay, but I…"

"Beca." Aubrey tried to break in, as Beca kept going, gesturing emphatically but still refusing to make eye contact.

"I swear, I had the picture and Bumper he…"

"BECA!" Aubrey said her name with force behind it, but not unkindly. The slim brunette stopped in mid-gesture, finally making eye contact.

"Yeah. Okay." Beca brushed the bangs back from her hair, trying to calm herself down.

Aubrey sighed, "We'll talk about all that later." Beca looked at her in surprise.

"What? Why? I thought…"

"Beca breathe okay." Aubrey reached out attempting to place a calming hand on the smaller woman, but Beca jumped back out of her reach. Aubrey retracted her hand, still looking intently at Beca. The other woman looked away unable to bear seeing Aubrey looking at her like she was some broken thing.

"I'm fine." Retreating back into herself Beca hoped that the snark in her tone would end this surreal moment. Maybe she was still in the simulation, maybe she blacked out and this was her mind playing tricks on her…

"Beca." Aubrey's voice was soft and Beca started. Somehow the other woman had managed to close the distance and now had her hand cupping Beca's chin forcing dark blue eyes to meet her green ones.

"You're okay Beca."

"What the fuck is happening to me?" Beca breathed out, her voice sounding foreign to her own ears, like it was coming from some distance away.

"You had a panic attack, and might be in shock." Aubrey still had her hand gripping Beca's chin lightly, her other hand was on the shorter woman's shoulder, to Beca it felt like she was trying to anchor her to the ground. Aubrey pulled Beca to her, wrapping long arms around the slim brunette. Beca allowed the contact for a moment, breathing in and then realized she was letting Aubrey Posen hug her.

"Whoa there Posen." Beca pushed the other woman away, glaring back at her suspiciously when Aubrey smiled. "You trying to make Conrad jealous?"

"Welcome back." Aubrey was still smiling and now Beca was annoyed, both at her moment of weakness and because Aubrey was now smiling at her.

"Alright whatever, moment's over." Beca was flustered, not sure how to handle whatever this was. She knew Aubrey should be pissed at her because she totally disregarded Bumper's orders and did her own thing. So the fact that Aubrey was being nice was really throwing her off and she responded the only way she knew how: poorly.

"You're going to talk about this." Aubrey waited for Beca to make eye contact again before continuing, "If not with me, then with Stacie, or Sophia or Dr. Theo." Beca paled visibly at the mention of the doctor and didn't comment on whose name she left out.

"No doctors." She breathed out. "Look I'm fine, okay?" Beca pointed to herself with her thumb. "I got the job done, just got disoriented when my Hellcat was hit is all."

Aubrey folded her arms and looked away for a moment then turned back, "You and I both know that is not what happened." The blonde paused a moment then softly continued, "I'll ground you Beca."

"What the fuck! No, you can't ground me! Aubrey, that's not fair." Beca advanced on the blonde clenching her fists at her sides.

Aubrey waited for Beca to pause then calmly continued, "Angry outbursts, trouble sleeping, nightmares, reckless behavior, apathy, should I continue?"

Beca was reeling, she felt the anger and tried to get it under control, unwilling to let Aubrey be right, "Ever consider that maybe I just don't like you Posen?" Beca regretted the words the moment they left her mouth but she felt backed into a corner and her pride wouldn't let her apologize.

A flicker of hurt ghosted across Aubrey's eyes but she kept her voice level, "Ever consider that maybe I understand what you're going through?"

Beca wasn't willing to back down, "Yeah what the fuck would you know about it Posen?" It felt wrong to keep lashing out but Beca couldn't stop herself and the fact that Aubrey wasn't yelling back at her by now was making her even angrier. As if by keeping calm Aubrey was just showing her how Beca was even more of a failure.

This time Aubrey's eyes flashed in warning before she resumed her relaxed stance and continued, "Maybe because I almost lost Chloe because I was afraid to call her out on what she was going through." Aubrey advanced closer to Beca with an edge to her voice now, "Maybe because I was too afraid of my own weakness and guilt I almost let my best friend die Beca, rather than deal with what was going on with us."

Beca's eyes were wide, her heart lurching at the pain she heard in Aubrey's voice and mind racing supplying scenario after scenario of what could have happened to Chloe. When Aubrey continued in a softer tone, Beca focused back on the blonde who somehow seemed smaller now.

"And maybe Beca, because I see Dr. Theo regularly to deal with the fact that I still have nightmares about having Chloe's blood on my hands."

"Fuck Aubrey." Beca breathed out in a whisper. Not sure what to say or how even to continue with so many questions racing through her mind.

Aubrey saved her from replying by continuing almost conversationally but still with a slight strain to her voice.

"When we came to get you, there was an explosion and Chloe and I were knocked to the ground, seeing her there lying motionless even for a second, almost sent me over the edge."

Beca stepped closer, wanting yet not wanting to hear this story at the same time.

Aubrey looked off into the distance, "We got up and kept moving, and I was so relieved Beca. So relieved that I didn't freak out, because honestly, I wasn't really trusting myself much before that. I was afraid that anything that happened would trigger me."

Beca ran her hands through her hair, "It was the green flash in the cockpit." She didn't make eye contact with Aubrey just continued quietly, "It all started with that, the out of control spinning and knowing they were coming for us. The green flash that meant they just murdered another friend. The green flash that meant Jimenez in the cell next to mine was dead. He had a wife and kids…it should have been me."

Aubrey stepped closer but didn't touch Beca this time somehow sensing it wouldn't be welcome.

"I can't help but feel like I died back there and this isn't real. It should have been me." Beca sounded so broken that it tugged at her heart strings, Aubrey was happy the younger woman was confiding in her, but afraid for her if she couldn't get past this.

"Well you did survive. And despite your disobeying all types of orders and protocol in the scenario, you came out on the other end okay." Aubrey decided a change of subject was in order to protect them both.

"Bumper is an idiot Aubrey. He fucking…"

Aubrey held up a hand cutting Beca off, "We'll talk about it in the debrief."

"Aubrey no! Yell at me all you want but I swear if I have to listen to Bumper…"

"Beca enough. It will just be Donald and I." Aubrey huffed in frustration.

Beca sighed, "So much for our moment Posen." Beca had her arms crossed and was looking up at Aubrey with a smirk taking the sting out of the words.

"You are so frustrating." Aubrey smiled a bit though unwilling to completely let Beca off the hook she continued, "Let me know when you've scheduled an appointment with Dr. Theo."

"What? No you said to talk, I talked!" Beca couldn't help it, she knew she was whining but she really didn't want to have to talk to a shrink.

Aubrey's only reply was to arch an imperious eyebrow, leaving her earlier threat of grounding Beca unspoken but hanging in the air.

"Fuck! Fine." Beca ran a frustrated hand through her hair.

"Dismissed Lt. Mitchell."

Beca's eyes went wide at the formal address. She mock saluted Aubrey, "Aye aye, Captain Hard-ass." Aubrey watched her stalk out of the room before pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers in a vain attempt at relieving the headache she had been nursing since the morning.

Sighing she resigned herself to the circus that the debrief would be. She left the room trying to think of ways to keep from strangling Bumper for the next hour.


	15. Chapter 15

Aubrey pinched the bridge of her nose for the seventh time, she was keeping count as a way of giving her something to focus on outside of the shit show this discussion had become.

"I'm just saying that Mitchell was more worried about protecting her booty call than following my lead."

Chloe's head shot up but Aubrey flashed a warning glance, she was pretty sure Bumper was referring to Jesse being Beca's booty call, and didn't want Chloe to engage Bumper…or maybe she did, the redhead had a mean left hook…

"Bumper, knock it off." Donald's voice was weary. They had discussed everyone else's performance in the simulators and were now reviewing Beca's vids.

The large view screen at the front of the room was in split in multiple screens, one showed the tactical layout of their flight, another showed the inside of the cockpit so they could watch the reactions of the pilot, and yet another group showed the status of various systems and weapons accuracy. All of it served to provide a complete picture of how well the pilot performed during the simulation.

Bumper pressed a button on the table in front of him, rewinding the video to the point where the green flash bathed Beca's cockpit.

"But this is my favorite part, where Mitchell loses her shit." Bumper sat back laughing as the video showed Beca fighting through the panic attack. Chloe clenched her fists and tensed, Aubrey laid her hand on the redhead's arm keeping her from leaving her seat.

"Beca was out of it for maybe fifteen seconds Bumper, and remember she correctly maneuvered into position even though you were too busy treating this like a milk run."

"What are you pissed at me for? We were supposed to test her ability to follow orders right?" Bumper crossed his arms defiantly.

"Seriously?" Aubrey raised both her eyebrows and leaned forward.

Chloe cut her friend off, "So you thought you'd give her absolutely ridiculous ones?"

Aubrey pressed a button on her console highlighting Bumper's flight path that took him away from the fight. She then keyed up his video where he was singing to himself and laughing at Beca when she tried to get him to turn around.

Aubrey frowned, "Bumper you're an idiot and Beca's willful, not stupid."

"Since when are you a fan of Mitchell, Posen? Something you're not telling us? Wait, does Conrad know you're getting some on the side with the midget?"

Chloe was up and out of her seat before Aubrey or Donald could stop her. She launched herself at Bumper, grabbing him by the collar, hauling him out of his seat and leaning over him menacingly. Bumper grabbed her wrists trying to dislodge her hold, grunting as his back hit the edge of the table.

"What the fuck you psycho." Bumper called out fearfully. He was still grasping at her wrists struggling to get free without success when Aubrey and Donald reached them after a moment of stunned surprise. The two pilots tried to separate them without much success. Aubrey grabbed Chloe's shoulder with one hand and her wrist with another. Donald tried to push himself between them but neither could break Chloe's grip.

"Chloe!" Aubrey called out, hoping to reach the angry redhead, but Chloe ignored her and tightened her hold on Bumper.

Bumper's face was red and he spit out, "What's the matter Beale? I strike a nerve? Is Posen not f-."

Chloe reared her left arm back to strike him and Aubrey locked Chloe in a hold to prevent her from punching Bumper, grunting with the effort at restraining the irate woman.

"Bumper shut up!" Donald tried to push between the two, but Chloe still had a grip on the front of Bumper's flight suit with her right hand.

"ENOUGH!" The XO's voice rang out and everyone broke apart like they had been burned. Chloe pushed Bumper away and he fell back into his seat with a grunt glaring at Chloe but he couldn't quite mask the fear in his eyes. The redhead was panting in anger, chest heaving as if she had just sprinted a mile. Aubrey still had a grip on Chloe's collar and Donald was staring worriedly at the XO who was now standing in the open doorway.

The XO slammed the door behind her causing everyone but Chloe to jump in surprise. The loud slamming of the door finally broke the redhead out of whatever headspace she was in and she turned towards the noise, eyes widening in fear when she was saw the XO standing there glaring daggers at everyone.

"Beale! My office, NOW." Chloe visibly flinched at the XO's tone and looked like she might protest before clenching her jaw at the last moment and walking determinedly out of the room. Aubrey and Donald were still frozen in surprise and maybe a little bit of fear. Bumper adjusted his flight suit and smirked triumphantly at Chloe's retreating back only to swallow with an audible gulp when the XO blocked his view.

In an overly calm and controlled tone the XO asked, "Anyone care to explain what just happened here?"

Bumper looked at Aubrey and Donald who made no move to bail him out.

"I'm waiting Allen."

"Y-yes ma'am. Captain Beale um, disagreed with my um, viewpoint."

Aubrey leveled a glare at Bumper.

The XO continued in the same dangerously calm voice, "What viewpoint was that, Captain Allen?"

Bumper looked behind her to Aubrey and Donald for help.

"Don't look at them, look at me."

Bumper knew enough to realize the XO was beyond angry, but he didn't understand why she was angry at him. It was Beale who accosted him after all.

"I was just saying that Mitchell's lost her nerve Ma'am. She refused to follow orders and freaked out in the middle of the flight. I was merely stating…"

"I see…" The XO cut him off and picked up a paper off of the table.

"She lost it ma'am and is dangerous." Bumper continued, hoping to get the XO to see his side.

"Was that before or after she took out five of the enemy fighters Captain Allen?" The XO looked back at the paper in her hand, "As a matter of fact Captain Allen, the only one without a confirmed kill is you. Care to explain that?"

The XO's continued use of his rank unnerved him and now he felt cornered. Truth be told he was goofing off during the mission feeling like it was a waste of time pretending to grade the other pilots. They were damaged goods and they were kidding themselves if they thought they could fit in here and be trusted after being prisoners of the enemy.

"Ma'am with all due respect she can't be trusted! They can't be trusted!" Bumper edged forward in his seat desperate to make his point.

"That's enough Captain Allen. We'll discuss this further at another time. Dismissed."

"But ma'am! I…"

"I said dismissed." The XO leveled him with a glare that brooked no further argument. Bumper scurried quickly to his feet and exited the room. Once he was gone the XO turned to Aubrey and Donald who were still standing, looking worried.

Donald was the first to speak, "Ma'am we're sorry."

The XO raised an eyebrow and Donald stopped, unsure of how to continue.

"I watched the engagement, give me the bottom line."

Donald nodded and glanced at Aubrey before continuing, "They're good pilots ma'am. You saw the results and we recommend to continue with the exercises as we laid out."

The XO hummed in agreement and then waited, watching as Donald shifted from foot to foot under her scrutiny. "And…?"

Aubrey spoke up, stepping closer to the XO, "Lt Mitchell did have an episode ma'am, after her Hellcat was hit." Aubrey looked away for a moment and Donald stepped in.

"It was only a few seconds ma'am. And we designed it to mimic their last firefight where her squadron was captured like you asked. She shook it off and continued, they all did."

"So your assessment is?" The XO fixed them both with an unreadable look.

Donald answered with more confidence this time. "Our assessment is that they passed the first round of testing. We'll keep an eye on Lt. Mitchell, but you saw for yourself, she came away with the most kills and correctly evaluated the situation."

Gail couldn't help but push back, worried that they were protecting their friends rather than presenting an impartial opinion, "So the fact that she disregarded orders?"

Aubrey frowned, "Ma'am, Bumper was deliberately off mission. Lt Mitchell made the right call and we will deal with her…methods…appropriately. I discussed as much with her already."

The XO looked at Donald, "You agree then Captain Ankar?"

Gail waited a moment, knowing that silence was the best weapon.

Donald cleared his throat and nodded, "Yes ma'am. We expected this to be honest. Lt Mitchell recovered quickly and she judged the situation and how to react appropriately."

"So why exactly did I walk in on Captain Beale about to throttle Captain Allen?"

Aubrey and Donald shared a glance and Gail broke in, "Stop protecting them. Being leaders means being able to offer an honest assessment even regarding your friends."

Both Donald and Aubrey blushed with embarrassment under her admonishment.

Donald spoke up, "Ma'am, Bumper was being an ass and goading Rider into a confrontation."

Aubrey continued feeling like she was betraying Chloe but understanding what the XO was getting at, "Chloe and Bumper have never gotten along, but lately Chloe's been on edge, normally she wouldn't have reacted that way. She was however, defending me and Lt Mitchell."

"Bumper insinuated that Lt Mitchell was sleeping with Valkyrie. We failed to diffuse the situation though ma'am." Donald held the XO's gaze.

The XO sighed heavily, "Right. Well carry on with the training. I am going to speak at length with Captain Beale and Captain Allen. I will not tolerate this behavior in my squadron, am I understood?"

Both Aubrey and Donald nodded, "Yes ma'am."

Chloe was halfway to the XO's stateroom before she even realized where she was. The agitated woman paused for a moment, leaning against the bulkhead, holding her hand to her forehead attempting to calm her breathing. Bumper just made her so angry sometimes. She was tired of his bullshit commentary about everyone and everything. Knowing how sensitive Aubrey was about her relationship with Stacie and then hearing Bumper start in on it had her seeing red, Aubrey didn't deserve that coming from him, not when she was finally allowing herself to find some happiness.

Chloe pushed off the wall and cursed at herself under her breath angry that she had lost her composure. If she was being honest with herself, a big part of her was upset because he went after Beca too. Chloe had watched the vids and her heart hurt for the younger woman. She had also watched Aubrey flinch as her friend watched Beca go through it, obviously thinking about her own demons. All of this hit just a little too close to home for her to let him get away with being an ass. The redhead's protective streak would not allow her to sit idly by when the ones she loved were being threatened.

Ever since she found out that Beca was one of the pilots the Gaks had taken prisoner, Chloe kept beating herself up over how she had left things between them at the Academy. She screwed up by not fighting for what she wanted. Looking back now, Chloe wondered if she had read the entire situation wrong and with Aubrey being distant, she couldn't discuss her feelings about Beca with her.

Things with Aubrey had been strained for months if she was honest with herself. They still operated effectively on missions and had surface conversations but she knew Aubrey was pushing away from her. It hurt beyond belief to watch Aubrey reach out to help Beca and still avoid talking to her. She was happy Aubrey was able to be there for Beca, but for the first time in a lifetime of friendship she didn't know how to put the pieces of them back together again. It left her feeling adrift, Aubrey's friendship was her rock. Chloe knew that Aubrey always felt that she needed her more than Chloe needed her, but that wasn't the case. Chloe relied on Aubrey's steady presence to keep her grounded.

After a minute Chloe reached the XO's stateroom and put herself at parade rest, anger and shame coloring her features in equal measure. The redhead wasn't sure how long she waited there, afraid to move in case the XO rounded the corner. She kept herself occupied by playing and replaying the events over and over in her head, mentally preparing for the ass chewing she was sure to receive from the XO.

Lost in thought she didn't notice the XO until she was standing right in front of her. Chloe started in surprise but did her best to recover, coming to attention she fixed her gaze somewhere past the XO's ear waiting in silence for the other woman to say something.

For a long moment the XO searched her face and Chloe stood there passively staring past the older woman, though her cheeks were still flush with emotion.

In a quiet voice the XO said, "Beale, look at me."

Chloe clenched her jaw and shifted her eyes to the XO's, doing her best to stare back and push all emotion down. After a moment Chloe looked away from the XO's grey eyes, unable to hold her gaze, her heart started beating faster, so fast she was afraid it might thump out of her ribcage altogether.

"I said look at me Beale." The XO's voice held no judgment, just quiet command. Chloe locked eyes again only to look down after a moment.

"You still angry, Captain?" The XO questioned in the same quiet voice.

"No ma'am." Chloe answered her quickly, but it was obvious from her tone she was still mad.

"You lying to me now Captain?" The XO's voice was still soft but held a note of warning. Chloe didn't trust herself to answer so she locked her gaze at the spot beyond the XO's ear again and remained silent.

The XO expelled a lengthy breath, walking into her office. Once inside she called out "Get in here Beale."

Chloe looked up to the ceiling as if praying for strength before entering the office, closing the door and standing at attention in front of the XO's desk, tension radiating off of her lithe frame. Gail allowed herself a brief moment of anger at the younger woman's behavior.

"Sit down." The anger was unmistakable in Gail's voice this time.

Chloe couldn't stop herself from flinching at the tone before she dropped into one of the hard-backed chairs in front of the XO's desk. She set her shoulders and still wouldn't look directly at the XO. Gail steepled her fingers, leaning back in her own chair and waited.

Several long minutes later Chloe finally made eye contact and held it for a few seconds before looking down at her hands and then back up. To the XO she seemed like a newborn colt, unsteady and skittish, Gail knew that Chloe had hidden depths and underneath her bubbly personality there lay a thoughtful and complex woman. The outgoing personality was a better mask than most would ever realize. Few would ever try and look beyond to discover the woman underneath. This also meant that Chloe was adept at hiding her true emotions which wasn't a healthy character trait to Gail.

Gail stood up, causing Chloe to look up sharply, she motioned for the redhead to stay seated, walking around her desk to sit in the chair next to Chloe. The redhead dropped her head to study her hands again, rubbing her right thumb across the palm of her left hand in a rhythmic motion looking at the XO out of the corner of her eye.

Gail placing her elbows on her knees, leaning over into Chloe's space, Chloe flinched subtly but remained staring at her hands as if they contained answers to the secrets of the universe. After a moment of quiet contemplation where Chloe still refused to look at her Gail decided on a direct approach.

"Chloe, what is going on? Any other day Bumper's commentary doesn't bother you, so tell me what is different about today." Gail truly was at a loss, she knew Bumper and Chloe would never be friends, but Chloe usually stayed above it all and ignored his boorish antics.

The redhead sighed, her anger deflating a little at the XO's gentle inquiry. Chloe bit the inside of her cheek in an effort to keep from crying. She really expected the XO to yell and was ill prepared to deal with the quiet compassion that the XO was offering.

When Chloe didn't answer the XO pressed on, "Is it because he went after Aubrey? Or Beca?" Chloe still was studying her hands, though her breathing hitched a bit showing she was listening. Gail began to reach across the small gap between them to take Chloe's hand in hers to offer some comfort but Chloe bolted out of the seat, running her hand through her hair in agitation.

"No! Yes!" Chloe looked away breath coming faster now, "I don't know, he's just…it's…"

The XO held her hand out surprised at the woman's reaction, she reached for Chloe, "Chloe, hey, it's okay. Let's sit here a minute?"

Chloe had her hands on her hips, feeling the thunder of her anger build again. Splaying her hands out she continued in a rush, "He thinks he knows so much. All he knows is how to tear things down. Aubrey's finally allowing herself to be happy with Stacie! And he goes after that! He messed with Beca just because he could! He's never stuck his neck out, so he makes fun of her for what? Reliving a horrible moment? He's a coward!"

Gail sat there, surprised at Chloe's rant, but happy that the woman was talking finally. She watched as Chloe replayed what she said and realized she had just outed Aubrey and Stacie.

"Ma'am about Aubrey and Stacie…"

The XO held up a hand stopping whatever word vomit was about to happen. "Chloe, I know about Captain Posen and Lt Conrad. Aubrey came and told me. While, I am not thrilled, I'm not going to put an end to it as long as they remain professional and make an adjustment to the squads."

Chloe slumped back down in the chair next to the XO in relief. The XO remained silent, letting the younger woman gather herself. Finally Chloe turned to look at her, this time making eye contact and holding it, "I can't apologize ma'am. I won't."

The XO cocked an eyebrow and continued to wait.

"I'm not sorry. I know that means I'm wrong, but I won't apologize for defending my friends."

Letting out a long suffering sigh the XO said, "Chloe, this is nothing he hasn't said or done before, so I'm going to ask again, what was different about this time?"

The XO was left staring at Chloe's profile as the younger woman continued to sit in silence, staring into her lap.

Finally almost whispering the redhead answered, "It just was."

"That's not an answer Beale."

"I know ma'am, I just…" Chloe trailed off.

"Just what Chloe? Help me understand."

After a few silent moments that seemed to stretch into eternity the XO watched Chloe set her jaw, when the redhead turned to look at her it was with an impassive expression which looked out of place on the woman's usually expressive face.

"It won't happen again ma'am."

Gail realized that Chloe wasn't giving her the whole story, there was another layer to this under the surface, but she knew that pushing Chloe wouldn't get her anywhere today.

"In the future I expect you to use your words, not your fists."

"Ma'am, I know, I'll…"

"Oh no Captain Beale, don't make any promises you don't intend on keeping. Stay away from Bumper. I am going to hold off on disciplining you beyond confining you to your quarters for the next three days outside of training exercises or missions. I trust you understand that I will not be so nice next time.

Chloe nodded, surprised she was getting off so lightly.

The XO stood up and walked to her desk, with her back to Chloe she said, "You can talk to me Chloe. When you are ready to tell me what is really going on, I'd be happy to listen."

Chloe stared at the XO's back for a moment, before saying softly, "I know."

Turning around, "I'll be here when you're ready. Just don't take too long."

Not trusting her voice Chloe just nodded.

"Dismissed."

As Chloe exited the room Gail dropped in her seat and rested her head in her hands, hoping she did the right thing by not forcing the redhead to tell her what was really going on.

Chloe eased into her stateroom, relieved when she saw that the room was empty. Happy for the alone time she crawled up in her bunk and pulled out her wireless ear buds that linked to her music database. Closing her eyes she lost herself in the music, trying to push the day's events out of her mind.

Aubrey walked into the room after finishing the debriefs with Stacie and Beca in tow and found Chloe still lying in her bunk. She saw Chloe open her eyes and look surprised to see Beca and Stacie before settling her gaze on Aubrey and watching her carefully.

The ginger looked like a puppy that had piddled on the carpet, it hurt Aubrey to see her like this so the blonde looked away.

Seeing Aubrey look at her then look away, Chloe's face fell and she rolled over to face the wall, wrapping her arms around herself and sighing.

"Um, what just happened here?" Stacie looked at the other two women nervously.

Beca looked at Aubrey with wide eyes, "Dude. What did you do?"

"What did I do?" Aubrey looked at Beca in mild outrage, "I didn't…"

Stacie interrupted, "Yo Becs, it looks like they need to talk, let's go see if the mess decks have ice cream."

"Ice cream? What are you five?" Beca huffed.

Stacie just smiled and pulled the shorter woman out of the room with her calling over her shoulder, "We'll be back later."

Beca hurried to catch up to Stacie's long strides. "Dude what was that? What just happened back there?"

Stacie looked over her shoulder and slowed her pace allowing the shorter brunette to catch up. "Aubrey just said that things were a little interesting in the Captain's meeting."

Beca pushed her hands into the pockets of her flight suit, "Aubrey said some stuff about…" Stacie knit her brows as Beca paused, unsure about how to broach the topic of whatever mission left Chloe and Aubrey like this.

"What? About how amazing I am in bed?"

"What? No! Jesus Stacie." Beca shook her head to rid herself of that image while Stacie chuckled to herself. Beca huffed in frustration.

Stacie realized that something was really eating at the brunette, "What's the matter Beca?"

Beca side-eyed her, contemplating bringing this up, since, as Stacie reminded her, she was sort of involved with Aubrey. Stacie had always been a good friend though, subscribing to the Chloe Beale 'School of Ignoring Boundaries' which was about the only way to break through Beca's multiple defensive layers that she had spent a lifetime building.

"Whatever's eating you, just spill." Stacie prodded when Beca stayed silent.

"It's just that Aubrey and Chloe were always so…solid. And um, now, they um, well…"

Stacie stopped in the middle of the passageway, "Oh."

Beca paused a few steps ahead and looked back at her friend. "Yeah."

Stacie shook her head, "I'm not sure we should talk about that."

Beca raised an eyebrow, "Since when are you not willing to talk about stuff?"

Stacie sighed, "We really need alcohol for this."

Beca grimaced, "Um, Aubrey would kill us, especially since we have hand to hand training in the morning."

Leveling an assessing gaze at the shorter brunette Stacie asked, "What are you really after Beca?"

Beca toed an imaginary line with the toe of her boot, "They just seem messed up and Chloe she uh…, well I just care okay?"

After a moment Stacie seemed to reach an internal decision and grabbed Beca's hand dragging her down the hallway.

"Whoa this isn't where you shove me out of an airlock for asking questions about your girl is it Conrad?"

"Ha-ha Becs, very funny. This is the part where I find us some privacy."

"Yeah cause that makes me feel better about my chances for being spaced."

Stacie gave her a look, "You've been watching those movies with Jesse again?"

"He's relentless."

"I wouldn't take the pleasure of throwing your scrawny ass out of an airlock away from Posen, so you are safe with me." Stacie smiled at Beca's answering grunt of disbelief.

"Actually, things between us are sort of better I think." Beca shrugged, not quite sure how to characterize the weird place her relationship with Aubrey was in.

The leggy brunette smiled at Beca, "Oh yeah?"

Beca scowled, "Well, I'm not saying it's all puppies and rainbows or anything…just that she doesn't seem to…hate me as much."

"You two have more in common than you know."

Beca raised both her eyebrows, cocking a thumb at her chest, "Me and Posen? Are you insane?"

Stacie stopped in front of a door and smiled down at the shorter woman, "Yeah Becs. If you took the time to get to know her, you'd see it too." Stacie swiped her palm on the pad next to the door, waiting a second as a chime sounded and the door opened with a whoosh. Beca made a show out of inspecting the room for any hidden dangers, grinning at the shorter woman's antics Stacie grabbed her collar and pulled her across the threshold into the room.

Beca looked around the room in confusion, it had several screens and interfaces arranged across the far wall. The equipment allowed for various video feeds to be screened simultaneously. This is where mission videos and logs were viewed and dissected usually for training, debrief or teaching and was similar to the tactical room but had more seating for a larger audience.

"What are we doing here?"

Stacie bit her lip, wondering again if this was a good idea, "Well, I could tell you what I know, or show you."

Beca paled a bit, "Show me what?"

"When it all went to hell." Stacie's mouth was set in a grim line and her eyes searched Beca's to see if the other woman was really up for this.

"How bad was it?" Beca asked softly.

"Pretty bad. Um, we watched it to talk about what went wrong, but honestly, I think most of us were still in shock or blocked it out because I only remember bits and pieces myself. It was a bad mission for all of us." Stacie paused in contemplation for a moment before continuing, "Afterwards, things were rough for a while, for everyone. Um, that part, Chloe or Aubrey will have to tell you about."

When Beca remained silent, Stacie backtracked, "We don't have to watch it or anything, I just think if you want the whole story, this is the only way to get it, or at least the beginning of it. Because, as far as I know Aubrey and Chloe haven't really talked about it at all. Ever."

"Jess and I tried to get them to talk about it, but they shut us down every time. Jess said that Chloe damn near bit her head off the last time she tried, so we gave up. Maybe we gave up too soon." The brunette trailed off, lost in her own memories.

Beca nodded. "Yeah Aubrey just hinted at stuff."

Stacie looked back at the blank screens, "To be honest, I wanted to see it again, now that a few months have passed. See if I…"

"See if you can help her?" Beca cut the other woman off.

The tall woman nodded, "Yeah, something's seemed off about everything and this is kind of where it started you know?" Stacie shrugged, "So maybe I can help, or just be there."

Beca took a deep breath and sat down at one of the console interfaces.

"Alright, let's do this." Stacie slid into a chair next to her and started issuing commands to the system hoping that Aubrey wouldn't end her life if she found out about this.


	16. Chapter 16

Back in the stateroom Aubrey stood silently, gazing blankly at the door where Stacie had retreated with Beca. Looking back over at Chloe's bunk she saw the redhead still had her back to her. By the set of her shoulders, she could tell Chloe was upset and was at a loss for what to do to help her best friend. Helping people feel better had always been Chloe's territory. Sighing she walked over to the bunk, Chloe had always been there for her, she just hoped she could help with whatever was eating her friend.

"Hey Chlo." Aubrey called out gently. Chloe pretended not to hear her, but Aubrey saw the other woman's breathing quicken, giving her away. Biting her lip, she reached up and placed her hand on Chloe's shoulder, pulling gently to try and get the other woman to roll over. Aubrey raised an eyebrow in surprise when Chloe shrugged her off.

"Leave me alone Bree."

Aubrey stood there in stunned silence at Chloe's behavior. When they fought, the two of them weren't shy about yelling at each other but it was usually Aubrey who shut down and refused to engage. They had a few knock-down, drag out fights over the years and Chloe was always the patient one waiting for Aubrey to come back and smile sheepishly in apology after the dust had settled. But the silent treatment was new.

"Chloe!" Aubrey tried again.

Chloe just sighed but didn't turn over.

This was ridiculous Aubrey thought to herself. This whole situation was starting to make her angry, Chloe was acting like she was to blame. Shaking her head Aubrey hauled herself up into Chloe's bunk, leaning over the redhead. The other pilot rolled into her back looking up at Aubrey in shock.

"Aubrey!" Chloe had put up her hand on Aubrey's chest pushing her away. The blonde stared down, searching Chloe's face in an effort to understand what was going on.

"Chlo, you're being ridiculous." Chloe's look of surprise turned quickly to anger.

"I'm being ridiculous?" Chloe huffed, "Just go away Aubrey." The redhead started to turn over but Aubrey stopped her earning another heated look.

"Chloe for serious, what is up with you?" The look of utter fury in Chloe's eyes when Aubrey asked this caused her to sit back a bit.

Chloe pushed Aubrey back further and sat up, anger dripping in every syllable, "What's up with me? Oh now you want to know?" Chloe pushed against Aubrey's chest again in emphasis, "Why start caring now?"

Aubrey's stomach dropped and she could feel her blood running cold at the anger in the other woman's voice. She had never heard the other woman use that tone with her before, Aubrey felt the bile rising in the back of her throat for the first time in years, sick over upsetting her friend like this.

In a voice choked with emotion Aubrey said, "Chloe, I…I've always cared."

Chloe looked away from the stricken look in Aubrey's green eyes, "Just…leave me alone."

"What? No! Chloe, tell me what's wrong." Aubrey couldn't help the panic that was edging into her tone.

"What's wrong? You tell me! You're the one…" Chloe sounded lost as she wrapped her arms around herself and still wouldn't look at Aubrey.

"Chloe you're scaring me. What is this about?" Aubrey had an idea now that maybe Chloe had noticed her attempt to put some distance between the two of them. It wasn't fair really, they had been friends since they were four. She needed to be objective and with Chloe that was really hard with memories of sleepovers, soccer games and late night conversations about anything and everything. Aubrey thought she was protecting them both this way.

Chloe turned to look at her, her tone one of resigned sadness, "What I did was so wrong you won't even look at me anymore?"

Seeing Chloe's expressive blue eyes filled with sadness hit her like a punch to the gut. Now it was Aubrey's turn to look away, she made a move to get off the bunk, wanting to put some space between them for this conversation but Chloe's hand on her arm stopped her. Chloe didn't say anything just left her hand there, Aubrey knew that if she walked away now it would break them, things would never be really be okay. The trouble was, if she stayed and they did talk, it might break them anyway.

"Why won't you talk to me?" Chloe's voice was almost a whisper, "I know I screwed up Aubrey and they're dead because of me, I'm so sorry, but I need you and you…you…"

Aubrey had turned horrified eyes to meet Chloe's, "Wait what? You think it's your fault?"

"It is Bree and you and I both know it." Aubrey turned to the redhead grabbing her hands and squeezing them tightly.

"Chloe no…that's not. It wasn't your fault okay?" Swallowing thickly against the lump in her throat that reliving this was causing her Aubrey continued, "It was Kaz's plan, I think he knew what was going to happen."

"If I had been quicker…"

Aubrey laced some steel in her tone, "If you had been quicker you'd be dead too."

"But why are you mad at me then if that is how you feel?" Aubrey looked away but still held on to Chloe's hands.

"I'm not mad at you Chloe. I'm mad at myself." Chloe looked genuinely confused at this.

"Bree why?"

Aubrey took a steadying breath, "How much do you remember after…after you went down?"

Chloe knit her brows, "Um, the first or second time?

"Second time." Aubrey stared intently at her friend hoping she remembered enough to keep her from having to relive all of this again.

"Um, not much. I mean I remember yelling and pain and um, you being there." Pausing a moment Chloe continued, "I know in the vids Lion told you to take me. I think I remember asking you to leave me behind."

Blowing out an unsteady breath Aubrey frowned down at Chloe's hands, rubbing her thumbs absently over the top of them.

"You did. Chloe you were hurt so badly. I..I don't know how you were still breathing. There was so much…so much blood. It was all over my hands, I could feel it running through my fingers." Chloe tightened her grip on Aubrey's hands attempting to reassure the other woman. She tried not to wince as her left one trembled at the effort. "But I did survive Bree."

Aubrey shook her head, her voice a bare whisper, "That's not all. Lion was hurt too. She told me to take you and get out. She went after Kaz and the others."

Chloe just looked at her friend knowing that there was more and wanting to give her the space to talk about it on her own terms. Aubrey looked down at their joined hands frowning at the trembling in Chloe's hands taking it as the other woman being emotional.

"Chlo, you were so far gone I should have left you and went with her." Tears were now streaming down Aubrey's cheeks. "But I couldn't, I was frantic, I still don't know how I picked you up, but I did and I left them Chloe. All that training, I knew what I was supposed to do and when the moment came I couldn't leave you."

Chloe wasn't sure what to say so she did the only thing she could do and wrapped her arms around Aubrey, holding her and letting her cry.

"I picked you Chloe and we lost Korey, Uni, Kaz and Lion and what's so fucked up is I think I'd do it again. My father sent me a letter after he reviewed the mission saying he was disappointed in me and that real leaders think with their heads and not their hearts."

Chloe held Aubrey for a moment longer choosing not to comment on Aubrey's father. Pulling back slightly the redhead placed a finger under Aubrey's chin, lifting it to make eye contact. "So you thought if you had more distance you could make the right call next time?"

"I did make the right call next time. And the time after that or so I thought. The XO called me out after our last mission and said that I was being reckless with our lives, but mainly with you. Putting you on point all the time, letting us go alone into situations." Aubrey tried to look away but Chloe wouldn't let her. "I'm so fucked up over this that I don't know what's right anymore."

Chloe waited until Aubrey had quieted a little before she spoke again, "Aubrey, we're in this together, I know I let you down, let everyone down."

No Chlo you didn't. It was FUBAR'd* from the start, I just feel like we left part of ourselves back there. A part I can't get back."

Chloe looked pensive, "I feel it to Bree. But why shut me out?" The redhead knew that Aubrey was still holding something back and was afraid to push too hard, feeling that this was a precarious conversation for them both, fraught with emotional minefields.

Aubrey sighed, "Talking about it makes it feel more real. Makes the failure real."

"Aubrey, you didn't fail. I know we lost friends, good friends but that isn't on your shoulders."

The blonde looked up, locking devastated green eyes with Chloe's worried blue ones. "I lost you Chloe."

The redhead sucked in a sharp breath, feeling her heart tug at the stricken look in Aubrey's eyes, "You didn't Bree, I'm right here.

You died, Chloe." Aubrey's voice broke, "You died in my arms after I carried you back, blood…your blood dripping down my neck, fighting through all of that, just to hear CR come over the radio saying they couldn't extract us, that we had to keep moving. So we did, we kept moving, we survived and after all of that I watched you slip away on that transport. You just stopped breathing. Everything stopped."

Aubrey hung her head unwilling to see the judgment in Chloe's eyes, hiccupping back a sob, memories of a broken and bloody Chloe laying in her arms on the deck of the transport. A deck that was stained dark red with her best friend's blood.

Tears were streaming down Chloe's face, responding to the anguish in her friend's voice she pulled Aubrey tighter into her embrace and spoke reassuringly into the blonde's ear, "Aubrey, I'm here. Right here. You did save me."

Aubrey pulled back grasping Chloe's hand she turned it over exposing the other woman's wrist, thin silver lines marred the skin.

"Chloe, please I almost lost you once because of the Gaks and the second time because of this. That's why I wasn't there for you like I should have been when this happened."

Chloe looked down, shame coloring her features, "I'm sorry Bree."

Aubrey slid her hand into Chloe's hair gripping it and forcing Chloe's watery gaze to meet hers, "I was so angry at you, angry that you wanted to throw your life away after I fought so hard to save you."

Chloe nodded as far as she could with Aubrey's hand still in her hair, "I blamed myself Aubrey, I don't expect you to understand and I am sorry."

"Explain it to me then, tell me why you would leave me?"

"Bree it wasn't that simple, I felt responsible and useless. They died for me…because of me and I couldn't live with that. Everything hurt, and I knew you were hurting, I just thought everyone would be better off without me."

"No…" Aubrey breathed out, quiet horror in her voice.

Chloe continued, "I realize now that I was being selfish, I just couldn't see past my own pain Bree, and I didn't know. You wouldn't talk to me and I just saw what I wanted to see, I thought you were angry and didn't let myself even consider it was just because you were hurting too."

The two pilots sat there, locked in this moment of remembered pain. Chloe looked away first and the world seemed to start moving again.

Breaking the weighted silence Aubrey spoke firmly, "We can't go back there." She waited for Chloe to make eye contact, when the redhead still refused to meet her gaze Aubrey tugged on her hands bringing them to her lap. Chloe looked up then, eyes wary.

"Chloe, promise me." At this, the redhead knitted her brows, confused as to what she would promise.

"Promise you what?" Aubrey looked away and then back at Chloe.

"That I won't find you bleeding somewhere again. I don't think I could survive that. No matter what happens we'll work through it. Just give me time."

Chloe looked at her friend, it hurt to see Aubrey so worried and unsure, but they were at least talking, really talking. In a soft voice she said, "I promise Bree."

Aubrey searched her eyes for a long moment before nodding and hugging the redhead fiercely before breaking away.

The redhead smiled a watery but real smile, "We'll be okay Bree."

Leaning back in Aubrey placed a soft kiss on Chloe's forehead then hopped down from the bunk. She went over to the sink and washed her face then turned back to the redhead, deliberately changing the subject to give them both some space.

"What did the XO say?"

Chloe shrugged, "Three days confined to quarters except for training or missions and stay away from Bumper."

Aubrey smiled crookedly, "She must be getting soft in her old age."

Chloe held her hand to her chest in mock horror, "Don't let her hear you say that."

The blonde pilot nodded, "Still could have been worse, right?"

Nodding Chloe agreed. The two shared a moment of silence that was comfortable rather than fraught with tension. After a moment Aubrey checked to see that the worst of the puffiness from crying had subsided before turning back to her friend.

"I'm going to go find Stacie and Beca, I'll be back in a bit okay?"

"Worried what they might be up to?" Chloe smiled softly.

Aubrey nodded, "This is Beca and Stacie we are talking about."

Feeling drained from their emotional conversation Chloe nodded in return and watched as Aubrey left, waiting until the door closed with a soft snick before laying back down, feeling a little lighter though exhausted. Chloe considered that she may actually be able to get some real sleep for what felt like the first time in forever.


	17. Chapter 17

Beca and Stacie were sitting in front of the large bank of consoles working on queuing up the videos from the mission where Kaz and the others died. Stacie keyed through a menu bringing up a freeze frame of an older man with a dusting of gray at his temples. In the freeze frame the man is making a funny face at a woman with short blonde hair who is pointing to a grid map projected the wall of their transport. Even in the grainy video it is apparent the woman is trying to hold back a grin at his antics. Underneath the video is a name Posen, A. and several bars tracking vital signs.

Stacie nods, indicating the screen, "That's Aubrey's viewpoint. Chloe's was too damaged to recover." Pausing for a moment she asks Beca, "Before I press play, I have to ask are you sure about this?" The brunette was busy biting her bottom lip as she searched Beca's face for any hint of hesitation.

Beca nodded in return, "Yeah. You sure you're okay though?"

Stacie shook her head, "No but let's do it anyway." The lanky brunette set the video to play at an accelerated speed and began narrating for Beca's benefit.

"The first part from hitting the LZ to setting the defensive perimeter for the Recon teams went off without a hitch." Beca nodded at Stacie, watching as the screen showed the squadron filing down a close canyon. Stacie continued, "We were only supposed to be support, you know, watch the entrance to the complex while Recon Two went in and set explosives.

Beca tore her eyes away from the screens, "I'm guessing that's not how it played out?"

"No not even close." Stacie offered shaking her head slightly. "The entire thing went sideways pretty quickly as soon as they entered the tunnels from what I understand."

"You didn't see this before?" Beca asked.

"No. Um, Chloe was still in Sick Bay when we finally debriefed and we didn't go over this part." Stacie looked down in her lap for a moment before meeting Beca's eyes, "Aubrey and Chloe were the only ones to come out of there."

Beca nodded solemnly.

"Here's where it starts. We set up the defensive perimeter and then the call came in over the radio." Beca watched as Stacie slowed the video back to normal speed. The squadron had set up outside of a jagged opening in the cliff face, spreading out, Beca imagined she could feel their nervous energy and anticipation that was always present before seeing action. Aubrey's video caught a hushed conversation happening between Lion and Kaz before they both came over and started issuing orders, splitting the squadron in two. Aubrey and Chloe are in the group that follows after Kaz and Aubrey's video feed catches a worried looking Stacie before it centers and starts following after the rest of the team.

Aubrey's video feed illuminates the red rocky tunnel they entered. Soft bluish light saturates the area from lichen growing overhead and sporadically on the walls. The entrance is wide enough for three to walk abreast and a slight breeze ruffles through the hanging lichen, making the light waver giving off the impression of light reflecting off of water. The whole scene is surreal and it sets Beca's teeth on edge.

The squad reaches a large room where the tunnel opens up into several more tunnels and Kaz is seen looking at his scanner, after a moment he quietly orders Chloe and Aubrey down the right side tunnel with Korey and Uni while he and Lion take one of the central ones. Aubrey's video shows Chloe looking questioningly at her after Kaz splits them up. Aubrey's hand is seen reaching out to rest on Chloe's shoulder and Aubrey quietly orders the squad to form up with Uni on point. Uni nods quickly before setting off followed closely by Chloe and Aubrey with Korey in the rear. Kaz is heard ordering them to stick to the path marked on their HUD and to keep up the pace. Aubrey's camera shows the group moving swiftly through the tunnels, Chloe close in front, free hand on Uni's shoulder keeping everyone connected.

The video gets grainy as the squad approaches another fork in the path and Chloe pulls Uni to a halt, stopping the squad. Her voice sounds tinny over the speakers, "Bree, I think we should wait, the scanner…"

Aubrey cuts her off tersely, emphasizing Chloe's call sign, "Negative _Rider_, keep moving." Chloe nods but sets her lips in a thin line, looking back at the scanner and tapping Uni to signal they are ready to move. The tall man pushes forward, squad following carefully behind.

Beca pauses the video and Stacie lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Why'd you stop?"

Beca leans closer to the screen rewinding and fast forwarding a few times, nimble fingers operating the controls. "Look at this." Stacie concentrates but doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. Beca sighs and points, rewinding again, "Here in the corner of Aubrey's screen, her vid shows Chloe's scanner highlighting the left path." Beca fast forwards to Chloe looking at it again and this time it clearly shows the right path. Stacie breathes in sharply.

"Maybe you were right, something is fishy here." The women exchange concerned glances and renewed their focus on the screens.

The squad moves down the path, even through the grainy video Stacie and Beca can see the tense set of Chloe's shoulders. Here the light is lower as the tunnel widens a bit, giving the shadows a dangerous and shifty feel, Aubrey's respiration has increased slightly and Beca swears she can feel the tension in her bones as the squad moves as quietly as possible through the exposed space.

Uni has just moved even with an outcropping of rock when a Gak bursts from behind the cover, warning yells ring out as the tall man struggles to get his rifle around in time. Chloe's weapon flashes brightly in the space spinning the Gak and dropping it to the floor as more emerge from the shadows. Aubrey's camera swings rapidly about as she targets Gaks dropping them as quickly as she can, laser fire from what appears to be Korey's position flickers in and out of view in the chaos.

The camera catches a view of two of the aliens who are on top of Chloe and Uni before they can react fully. Aubrey's rifle comes up before she is forced to move to other targets for fear of hitting Chloe or Uni.

One of the Gaks advances on Chloe with some type of plasma sword-like weapon that glows with a bluish-white hue. Chloe ducks under the alien's swinging arm, pressing a button on her rifle that makes the underside glow a dark red, she drags it across the Gaks oversized torso opening its shell, causing a viscous dark fluid to spill out. The alien goes down with a keening cry. Uni dodges his attacker getting a glancing blow in with the butt of his rifle, but it does little to phase the large creature who swats at Uni with another plasma sword missing by inches, Uni stumbles over the uneven ground and goes down, rolling to his side, expecting to dodge a finishing blow that never comes.

Chloe's attack on the Gak left her back exposed to the one fighting Uni and upon hearing the death cry of his fellow it abandoned the attack on the prone man, turning and slashing upwards, catching the redheaded woman in her ribs as she turned to face him. The force of the swing throws Chloe into the nearby wall with a pained cry which is echoed by Aubrey's shout as she guns the Gak down before he can finish Chloe off. Uni is beside the wounded woman in an instant while Aubrey's camera pans the area quickly making Beca grateful that she doesn't suffer from motion sickness.

"She's okay." Stacie's soft voice catches Beca off-guard as the petite woman realizes she has a death grip on the table and her breath is coming in fitful bursts. Stacie paused the video, sliding her hand over Beca's, squeezing gently. "We don't have to keep watching."

Steeling herself Beca shakes her head. "No, I'm okay." Stacie waits a moment and then starts the video again.

Uni is kneeling next to Chloe who is slumped against the rock wall, the blue lichen above her casting an eerie glow, leaving her face partially shadowed. Aubrey collapses to her knees next to the redhead ordering Korey to keep watch. The video shows Aubrey's hands reaching out, gently pulling Chloe's arm away from her side. Underneath the armor is burnt, sliced partially open, though it looks like it did its job and deflected most of the energy. Chloe begins to stir, groaning as her eyes flutter open before squinting shut in pain.

"Chloe. Chlo, talk to me." Aubrey cups her friend's face, waiting for her to open her eyes again.

The redhead coughs and winces, batting Aubrey's hand away. "I'm okay. Help me up." The camera shakes as Uni and Aubrey help a woozy Chloe to her feet. Aubrey checks the wound once more, the video is too grainy to get a good look, but it doesn't appear to be bleeding.

"Ow! Valkyrie, I'm okay. We shouldn't stay here." Chloe takes her rifle from Uni and steadies herself on the wall. The use of her call sign seems to snap Aubrey out of her panic and the camera steadies.

"Right. Okay, let's move out." Aubrey sets the squad in motion again, Chlo favoring her injured side slightly. The squad continues down the path, the camera feed shaking a bit as they navigate the uneven terrain.

Chloe calls out, "Scanner says Kaz and Lion are 300 yards ahead of us, it looks like an open cavern."

"Keep your eyes open everyone, let's pick up the pace." The squad covers the uneven ground easily enough, a few minutes later the light grows brighter and the tunnel widens. The squad stops at the edge of the cavern opening peering out into the open space. Blue lights dot the walls leaving the edges bathed in low light. At the far end of the cavern Kaz and Lion are in front of a console that is definitely alien in design.

Aubrey's group sets off across the cavern towards the two Major's and her camera sweeps cautiously over the terrain as Chloe and Uni move ahead of her. Suddenly a loud explosion flashes from off camera. Aubrey's video feed upends, showing flailing arms and legs tumbling before blinking off into blackness. A few seconds later the video feed starts again, it is laying sideways on the ground showing a lifeless and bloody Uni staring into nothingness with flashes of laser fire in the distance. Groaning Aubrey grabs the rifle lying next to her struggling to her feet. The video pans up in time to catch sight of Kaz and Lion returning fire down one of the hallways. Both of the Majors were intent on driving the Gaks back down the hallway and missed seeing another group of Gaks start pouring out from one of the side tunnels. The aliens immediately targeted the two exposed officers. Aubrey called out a warning as Chloe reached Lion launching herself at the tall woman just as a shot impacted with Lion's leg, but the camera cuts away sharply as Aubrey returned fire losing sight of the two as she drops several enemies who are trying to cross the open expanse of the cavern.

Several more shots are fired from the aliens now seeming to come from everywhere at once, another explosion rocks through the spacing causing debris and dust to rain down from the cavern ceiling blanketing the area in a thin blue fog that lit up with each flash of laser fire. It is a hellish landscape and Beca struggles to keep up with everything that is happening as Aubrey's camera shifts rapidly as the blonde tries to take down as many enemies as possible. Flashes of laser fire white out the camera sporadically, adding to the jarring feel of the video.

What feels like several lifetimes later to Beca the fight is over. Aubrey can be heard gulping down air as she steadies her hands on her knees, after a brief pause the camera pans rapidly over the cavern. Uni and Korey lay bent and broken on the ground, coated in dust and debris from the explosions. Aubrey quickly looks away from the carnage unable to look at what is left of her friends. In the distance Lion is wrapping a makeshift bandage around her wounded leg. At her feet Chloe is lying motionless. Both Beca and Stacey echo Aubrey's strangled gasp with muted exclamations of their own.

Aubrey half runs, half stumbles to where Lion and Chloe are, by the time Aubrey reaches them Lion is bending over Chloe, a thick syringe in her hand. The older woman is pulling away Chloe's damaged chest armor exposing major damage underneath to the same side the plasma weapon had impacted. One of her ribs is exposed, the flesh having been flayed from it and blood seeps liberally from the gash. Lion glances at Aubrey before turning back to the injured redhead.

"Posen! Hold her down and talk to her. This is going to hurt." The camera angle shakes a bit and Aubrey's hand appears, pulling Chloe's bloody hand away from her wound, squeezing it quickly Aubrey releases it to lean over the prone woman, holding Chloe down with her hands and body. In the corner of the screen Lion pushes the syringe directly into Chloe's wound causing the redhead to scream in pain, bucking under Aubrey's hold.

"Shhh, Chloe. It'll be okay, Lion's injected the nanites." Chloe coughs, blood dotting the phlegm on her lips and nods groaning again before another round of coughing wracks her small frame. Lion pulls Aubrey's hands and places them over Chloe's wound.

"Press down, hard." Working rapidly, Lion pulls several thin white packs out of her cargo pants and spreads them on Chloe's chest, keeping one and tearing it open to reveal a clear gel. Tearing open another yields a flesh colored strip of bandage.

"What happened?" Aubrey presses down on the wound fighting her gag reflex as blood wells up between her fingers, Chloe groans in pain and tries to grab Aubrey's wrist.

"Got between me and about seven Gaks." Lion bites out tersely and pours the gel liberally over the wound, Aubrey lifting her hands slightly as fresh blood gushes out. After the gel is applied Aubrey stretches the bandage over the worst of the wound. The material shifts seals over the worst of the wound but blood still seeps around the edges. Chloe's eyes blink as she slips in and out of consciousness.

Lion grunts unhappily, "Wound is too deep, bandage won't seal all the way." Chloe's eyelids flutter shut and she starts to slip into unconsciousness.

"Chloe! I need you to stay awake." Aubrey's voice is tight with unshed tears and her hands shake as she presses back down on the bleeding edge of the wound where the bandage doesn't cover. In the distance sounds of gunfire can be heard and Lion pauses, tilting her head slightly to listen to whatever is being said into her communicator.

"Aubrey look at me." The camera pans to Lion's face, "Take Chloe and get out of here."

"What? How? Wha—"

"That is an order Captain." Lion's face is set, and she seems exhausted. They both jump a little as Chloe reaches out a bloody hand to grab Lion by the wrist.

"L-leave me. It's okay." The redhead is wracked by another coughing fit, blood still coating her lips, "Just go."

Lion looks down angrily, "Both of you listen to me. You get your asses out of here." The Major pauses as if to say more, reconsidering she pushes to her feet, grabbing her rifle. "Beale don't you go dying on us. That's an order."

Aubrey shakes off whatever momentary paralysis that gripped her and stands to face Lion. "You can't be serious, Chloe's hurt too badly to move and what about you?"

"Captain this is not up for debate." Lion replies with fire in her eyes. "Beale's strong and those nanites will help. You get her out of here Aubrey. Tell Minstrel—" Lion is cut off by whatever is being said over the comms in her ear, the woman cups her hand to the side of her head listening intently and turning away. "Aubrey just go."

The camera stays on her retreating figure until she is through one of the far tunnels, it then pans down to Chloe who is now unconscious. Aubrey reaches out and grunting with the effort slides her friend into a sitting position before hoisting her across her shoulders in a fireman's carry. Aubrey grips Chloe's wrist and leg as she adjusts the other woman's weight. Blood can be seen running down Chloe's wrist and hand dripping down from it staining to stain the ground.

"Stay with me Chloe…please Chlo…come on…" Aubrey keeps a steady stream of commentary pausing to suck in breath at regular intervals under the strain as she makes her way as quickly as possible back the way they came in.

Beca lets out a breath reminding herself that Chloe is back in the stateroom alive not bleeding out on some godforsaken planet.

"What in the hell do you think you are doing? What kind of sick…" Aubrey's angry voice echoes against the muffled voice coming from the speakers. It takes a moment for Stacie and Beca to realize it came from behind them. Both women leap to their feet, turning to face a livid Aubrey. Anger is radiating off the blonde in waves as she advances into the room. Stacie holds up her hands in a placating gesture.

"Aubrey wait, we can explain." The tall brunette moves to stand in front of Beca.

Stopping with her hands on her hips she demands angrily, "Well, I'm waiting." Beca slides out from behind Stacie when the brunette hesitates, cowed by the anger she can sense in her girlfriend.

"Aubrey, I asked, um, that is, I…" Beca curses under her breath, upset that she can't find the words to explain.

"You asked what Beca? To see that? Why in the hell—"

"I was worried okay?" Beca cuts in.

Aubrey knits her brow in confusion, calming slightly. "Worried? About what?"

"Arrrgh!" Beca groans in frustration running an agitated hand through her hair.

"Use your words Mitchell." Aubrey is frowning down at the shorter woman still looking as if she wants to reach out and shake her. When Beca hesitates again, Aubrey levels a glare at Stacie, "Turn it off."

Stacie rushes to comply, trying to cancel the video as Aubrey can be heard crying softly over the speakers. She manages to get it shut off as Beca looks at both of them with a horrified expression before steeling herself and launching into an explanation.

"What you said the other day…it made me think and I um, realized something."

"What? That you wanted to see me break?" Aubrey steps closer to Beca and the brunette automatically steps back bumping into the console behind her as she holds out a hand to ward off the other woman.

"No, wait, just listen for chrissakes." Beca huffed in frustration bringing her hand back to her side. "Look it's all messed up right? It's broken and Chloe she's broken and you're broken. Everything is broken and I can't remember." Beca trails off as Stacie glances at her worriedly unsettled by the stilted explanation.

Aubrey's gaze softens a fraction, "Can't remember what? What are you talking about?"

"What happened. I realized you remembered this, what happened to you and Chloe. But I don't." Beca pauses lost in her thoughts for a moment.

The blonde woman is genuinely confused now and worried that Beca may be having some sort of episode, "Why would you remember what happened to Chloe and I?"

Beca looks up sharply, "No! You're not listening!" Collecting herself she tries again, "I don't remember what happened to me."

Aubrey knits her eyebrows, "But you said about the flash and the cockpit?"

Beca nods, "Yeah, I didn't remember that part until we were in the simulator, but that's it. The rest…is just blank. I don't remember Chloe punching a doctor, I don't remember you coming to get us, there's nothing but a blank. And just flashes in my dreams, I can't tell what's real." Beca's voice trails off at the end, she runs a hand through her hair making it stick up a little wildly. "Why don't I remember?"

Collecting herself Aubrey remembers that she is angry, and truth be told unsettled at walking in on the pain that she had just relived with Chloe just to see it all again in stereo. "So how did you think that watching this would help?"

"I just wanted to understand and I thought it might help."

"Understand what Beca?" The anger is gone, leaving a hollow exhaustion behind it. Aubrey pinches the bridge of her nose while she waits.

In a small voice Beca continues, "Why Chloe is so…not Chloe and maybe, I thought it might help jog my memory."

Aubrey looks up, frown marring her features. Beca's mention of Chloe reminds her that she left the redhead alone. Aubrey felt like everything was okay when she left, but she still didn't want to be gone too long. Turning to Beca Aubrey says with exhaustion lacing her tone, "Beca, this isn't something you can fix."

Beca frowns, "I know Posen, I'm just saying," stopping herself she calms down and continues, "I'm just thinking there is more to all of this."

Stacie sensing an opening to get some of the attention off of their trespass into Aubrey's ordeal butts in, "Yeah Aubrey, Beca found something weird. We were trying to see if there was anything else that jumped out."

"Weird, what do you mean?" Aubrey looked at Stacie as if she had two heads.

"Well there were scanner issues and it looked like…" Stacie rushed to explain but Aubrey waved her hand, cutting her off.

"No!" She half shouted, then softer, "Just no. I am not dealing with this right now." Turning back to Beca she leveled her best glare, "You need to get your shit together. This half chasing, half running away thing you're doing with Chloe is stupid. And it's not helping."

It was Beca's turn to look angry, "She broke up with me so excuse me for being careful this time around!"

Aubrey looked at the smaller woman incredulously, "Seriously, that's what you are going with after you cheated on her with Jesse?"

Beca was shocked, "What? I didn't? Jesse?" Then realization flickered across her face. "Oh god no…"

Aubrey was definitely in Beca's space now, pushing a finger to her chest, "Don't play games Beca, she saw you kiss him." Deciding this was just going to devolve into more than an argument Aubrey started for the door. "I am not dealing with this right now either. If I catch either of you in here again, you'll wish I didn't." Stacie swallowed audibly at the threat while Beca sagged against the console.

With one last look at Beca Aubrey threatened, "Don't mess with Chloe Beca. I mean it." Aubrey slammed the door shut behind her, leaving the two women staring after her.

Stacie was the first to break the awkward silence, "Well that went well."

Beca looked up at her, "Ya think?"

Then Stacie looked at Beca, "You cheated with Jesse?"

Beca groaned, "God no. I thought we were alone." Stacie raised an eyebrow at that and Beca backtracked hastily realizing how it sounded, "No, I mean he kissed me and I told him off. I didn't know anyone else was there."

Stacie's gaze softened, "Ouch."

Beca nodded, "Yeah." After a moment of silence between the two women Beca asked, "Now what do we do."

Stacie sighed heavily, "We go make it right. And then when Aubrey isn't homicidal anymore we tell her what we saw."

Beca scoffed, "How, she's always homicidal?"

"Becs haven't you been paying attention to anything I've said have you?"

Beca frowned, "What are you talking about?"

Stacie spared a pitying glance at the shorter woman, "That this is different, they're different."

Beca rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I know."

Stacie crossed her arms, "Do you? Do you really? I see the way you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop with Aubrey."

"Dude no that's…"

It was Stacie's turn to roll her eyes, "Oh so I am imagining seeing you cringe every time Aubrey walks into a room?"

Beca shrugged, "Okay well maybe…"

Stacie sighed, "Look, I'm about to lay some truth on you and then I'm going to go make it right with my _girlfriend_." Stacie stressed the word girlfriend and watched Beca grimace slightly. "The old Aubrey wouldn't have walked away from this without leaving you in pieces on the floor. The old Chloe would be chasing you and breaking down all of those twelve foot thick walls you had built even before all of this shit went down."

Beca looked as if she was about to interject but Stacie stopped her, "Oh no Beca you're going to listen this time. It has been years Beca. They've been through some stuff, Hell, we all have. They are not the people you remember. Aubrey has been fricking nice to you all along and you've snapped at her like some angry Chihuahua every chance you've gotten."

"Beca glared, she never wanted me with Chloe! She was always telling her to stay away from me."

Stacie looked at her sadly, "Does any of that really matter anymore?" Beca opened her mouth to speak and then reconsidered, instead she stopped considering her friend's words.

"Does it matter who did what to whom?"

This time Beca did interrupt, "She accused me of cheating, well that's rich considering she was screwing Chloe all along."

Stacie couldn't help herself, she laughed which caused beca to only get angrier. "Is that what you thought was happening?"

Beca stuttered, unsure now in the face of Stacie's obvious amusement, "I saw them?" Her statement came out more like a question now that she thought about it.

Stacie continued grinning, "Unless you saw Aubrey knuckle deep in Chloe, which I –" Beca turned red with embarrassment.

"Ugh! God no." She looked a little green at the image that put in her head.

Stacie smiled, "As hot as that image is…"

Beca groaned, "Ugh, stop it."

Stacie kept going, "What? I can appreciate the aesthetics…"

Beca buries her head in her hands and Stacie shakes her head trying to regain her train of thought before Beca had derailed her.

"You need to figure out what you want Becs. This Chloe won't chase you. And it sounds like there is a lot of misunderstanding happening on both sides. Maybe you should start paying attention to what Chloe is not telling you, she's not all sunshine and puppies and if you ask me, that is the real tragedy of this war." Stacie looks as if she is about to say more but stops, watching as Beca processes what she's been saying.

After a moment Beca offers, "Aubrey's mentioned that there was something else, something that happened after what we saw there."

Stacie wouldn't meet her eyes, instead the tall woman looked at the floor, "Beca, I don't think you need to see what happened on the transport, I mean I was there and wish I could erase the image of Chloe bleeding out in Aubrey's arms."

Beca looked down at the floor, "Not that. After. Something happened after, didn't it?"

Stacie sighed and looked away, "Not my story to tell Beca and I would be careful about asking Aubrey."

"Why can't you just tell me?" Beca was desperate to find out, something telling her that this was important.

Stacie looked at her compassionately, "Like I said, it's not my place and I think you need to work through some stuff with Chloe. You don't need to know what happened to be there for her now."

Beca was silent for a few moments before pushing off of the console she was leaning against. "Maybe you're right."

Stacie nodded and moved next to her hip checking her slightly and winking, "It happens occasionally you know." After a moment Stacie stood up squaring her shoulders, "Let's go get our grovel on."

The two women left the Debriefing room and made their way towards Aubrey and Chloe's stateroom. Stacie fiddled with the communicator on her wrist, after a moment Beca side-eyed her.

"What are you doing?"

Stacie smiled, "Telling Sophia you need the room."

Beca paled, "What?" Then spluttering, "Aubrey…"

"Will be with me." Stacie's grin widened.

"Ugh, pretty sure of yourself there Conrad." Beca snarked back to cover her blush.

They had just reached the door to the room. Stacie put her hand on it and paused looking at Beca for a beat before saying, "Makeup sex with Aubrey is amazing." Beca choked on whatever reply she was going to make and watched as Stacie winked and entered the room. Beca followed after trying to clear her mind of the picture Stacie painted.

Aubrey was leaning against her desk with her arms folded as if she had expected they would be coming by. Stacie went over to her immediately tugging her arms loose and inserting herself into Aubrey's loose embrace. Chloe's sleep tousled head poked over the edge of the bunk.

"What's going on guys? What's with all the serious faces?" Chloe yawned behind her hand trying to puzzle out why the other women seemed so tense.

Beca ran her hand through her hair again, locking gazes with Aubrey nodding to her before turning to Chloe, she put her hands on the edge of Chloe's bunk and hauled herself up. Chloe scooted back in surprise.

"What are you doing Beca?" Chloe asked, trying to shake the sleep from her brain.

"Shut up Beale, I'm trying to do a thing here." Beca pushed gently at the redhead and Chloe scooted a little more to make room too surprised to put up much of a fight.

"Uh, but Beca…" Chloe couldn't help but question the odd behavior from the smaller woman.

"Well, you see I knew this redhead that once said cuddling could be better than sex, which is crazy right?" Beca's voice cracked slightly at the end and she continued quickly before she lost her nerve, "I have this theory you see, that redheads need a certain amount of cuddling, or they turn into cranky blondes." Aubrey's answering snort behind her reminded her that she wasn't alone in the room.

Beca glanced over her shoulder at Aubrey but Aubrey was busy paying attention to whatever Stacie was whispering in her ear so Beca turned back to Chloe who was looking at her like the redhead had never seen her before.

"So, even though I really suck at cuddling Beale, I'm doing this to save you from cuddling with Stacie or worse – turning into Aubrey."

Chloe finally found her voice, uncharacteristically stammering out, "Beca you don't have to…"

"Shhh…" Beca gently shushed the other woman, "Don't make this weird Beale." Beca pushed gently on Chloe's shoulder urging her to turn over. The redhead complied more out of surprise than anything else.

"You're weird." Chloe finally said voice tinged with a little humor and a little confusion.

Beca slid in behind her, wrapping her arms around the redhead. "Shhh, just go with it or I'm letting Stacie come up here and nobody wants that." Chloe giggled lightly in spite of herself at Beca's joking.

Beca heard the door open and shut, with the lights dimming and risked a glance confirming that she was alone with Chloe in the room. Stacie obviously convincing Aubrey to give them some space. Beca didn't let herself consider any other motives for the two leaving. Her psyche was damaged enough as it was.

The two women were silent for a few minutes before Beca finally felt Chloe relax a little in her arms and Beca willed herself to settle in as well.

"I like it when you're the big spoon." Chloe's voice was still gravelly with sleep.

Beca nodded nuzzling into the redhead's neck. "Me too. Get some sleep, we can talk tomorrow."

The redhead stiffened slightly at the uncharacteristic words from the woman behind her and Beca felt she should clarify a little or they would be up all night. "I screwed up a lot of stuff and I'm sorry, and I promise we'll talk, but right now I just want to hold you."

Chloe pulled Beca's arm up and kissed her forearm lightly, before returning it to her waist, "Okay, goodnight Beca."

"Goodnight Chlo."


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary:**

*Trigger warning* Abuse is mentioned briefly though not detailed. This chapter is also NSFW, though not super graphic. Some mention of rough sex, though consensual.

**Notes:**

Sooooooooooo sorry for taking so long to update. I am not sure I am happy with this chapter and it went through a million rewrites so I am just leaving it here as it is. Hope you don't hate it.

We finally get some sexy times...though I have to say I definitely planned this differently, but this is what happened instead.

Thanks for being patient!

Once Stacie and Aubrey exited the room Aubrey stopped, crossing her arms and frowning. "Explain to me why we are leaving Beca alone with Chloe?" Aubrey asked with a raised eyebrow.

Stacie smiled brightly, "They're big girls, and they'll be okay." Aubrey looked back at the door, obviously conflicted.

"I don't know." Sighing, Stacie wrapped her long fingers around Aubrey's wrist, tugging her gently away from the door.

"C'mon." Stacie pulled Aubrey along for a few more steps before the blonde dug in her heels.

"Wait." Aubrey snapped. The brunette turned slowly, shoulder's tensing at Aubrey's tone. Pulling her wrist free from Stacie's grasp Aubrey folded her arms and jutted out her chin. Stacie wavered under her gaze and wasn't sure if she should just start begging for forgiveness in the hallway. Stacie had hoped to make it to the privacy of their room before they had this discussion. She stepped forward only to have Aubrey turn away slightly.

Stacie stopped, scared at the look in the blonde's eyes, choking out, "Bree please, I know your mad and I'm sorry."

Aubrey continued looking down, refusing to meet Stacie's eyes, saying softly, "I'm not mad, just…why? She looked up at Stacie now with watery eyes, "Why would you show that to Beca?"

Stacie's gut clenched, "Bree please, I can explain." Her heart thudded painfully in her chest making it hard to breathe. The look of hurt in Aubrey's eyes was killing her. She reached out and grasped Aubrey's hands again, pulling her along, "Come on, let's go somewhere we can talk, I promise I'll make this right."

"Sex won't fix this Stacie." Aubrey watched as a flicker of hurt showed in Stacie's eyes, the brunette looked down for a moment before looking back up. Aubrey almost reached out to close the distance feeling a pang in her own gut at lashing out, but she fought it down, still upset enough to want to do some hurting of her own.

"I know Aubrey, I promise I just want to explain." Stacie bit her lip, hoping her girlfriend would relent. Aubrey held firm for a few seconds longer before sagging and allowing Stacie to pull her along.

After a silent walk where Stacie kept shooting glances at a silent and subdued Aubrey they finally reach what Stacie considered 'their room' and the brunette smiled shyly, opening the door and ushering Aubrey inside.

Once the two women are inside all of Stacie's prepared speech vanished when she looked at Aubrey. The other woman was leaning stiffly against the wall, arms wrapped around her waist to keep her from fidgeting. Aubrey looked lost, as if she wasn't equipped to handle this and Stacie's heart lurched, suddenly realizing how deeply she cared about the woman across from her and how deep they were in this together.

She was not ready to have this type of power over Aubrey, she told the blonde she could handle this relationship; that she could be girlfriend material and something more than just a fuck buddy, but the truth is, she was bluffing. Stacie had never really been in a relationship – preferring to enjoy her freedom and shrug off any entanglements as unnecessary. Truth was she had never wanted to be in a relationship until she met Aubrey. Now Stacie couldn't imagine NOT being in a relationship with Aubrey no matter how much baggage they had to work through. Unconsciously she stepped toward Aubrey as the other woman turned away again, leaning into the wall away from Stacie.

"Bree look at me." The brunette plead softly. When Aubrey kept her eyes downcast, lost in her own world, Stacie tried again, "Aubrey please." Finally Aubrey turned sad green eyes to meet Stacie's own. The brunette raised her hand instinctively wanting to console her, but hesitated at the last moment, aware that her touch would be unwelcome.

Aubrey's voice was beyond tired, "Just tell me Stacie. Tell me why you would do this to me."

"It wasn't to hurt you Bree, I was trying to help."

Aubrey straightened asking incredulously, "Help what? How does showing Beca any of that help? You know how personal that is to me."

"No Bree listen please, I never meant to hurt you with this. It was…" Aubrey advanced on the brunette cutting her off.

"Never meant to hurt me? But you did!" Aubrey poked Stacie in the chest emphasizing her words.

"I thought I was doing what you would want me to do!" Stacie was near tears and hastily blinked them away.

Aubrey realized Stacie was upset but couldn't see past her own anger, "But you didn't ask me!"

Stacie raised her voice panic edging her tone, "I know and I'm sorry!"

Both women were staring at each other breathing heavily. Stacie continues quickly, "You kept saying how you wanted to be there for Beca and that she was finally opening up to you. Beca started asking questions, and caring Bree. You know her, she doesn't let anyone in, but you were getting somewhere." The brunette paused half expecting Aubrey to yell again, instead the blonde appeared thoughtful.

Stacie closed the distance this time, unwilling to be separated any longer, "Look, I know I went about this entirely wrong. I was just trying to take something off your plate." Aubrey allowed Stacie into her embrace though she frowned. The brunette lightly traced Aubrey's eyebrow with her fingers, trying to smooth out the worry lines there.

"I really was trying to help. You're trying to be everything to everyone and I see it Bree, I see you slipping away. I just wanted to take one thing and make it better and maybe help Beca too in the process."

Aubrey sighed, "Did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Help Beca?"

Stacie considered the question for a moment. "Yeah I think so. At least we had a really good conversation about you and Chloe and what happened with her and Jesse." Stacie didn't realize she had walked into Aubrey's trap.

Aubrey pounced on her opportunity, "So why in God's name did I leave that little cheater with my best friend?"

Stacie rolled her eyes good naturedly, "No Bree – she didn't cheat. She told me what happened."

"And you believe her?"

It was Stacie's turn to sigh, "Beca's a pain in the ass and emotionally stunted sometimes, but you know as well as I do she doesn't lie, she owns her mistakes."

Aubrey wasn't willing to let this go, remembering how tough it was to deal with a devastated red head. "Chloe saw them together, Stacie."

Stacie nodded, "Yeah, Beca says Jesse kissed her. She pushed him away and told him off. Beca didn't know anyone else saw anything and looked like she was about to throw up just telling me about this." Stacie paused then grinned mischievously, "However, she does think she saw you having sex with Chloe, care to elaborate?"

It was Aubrey's turn to blush and look away, "Chloe may have been angry and um, nothing happened, she just um, mounted me goofing off knowing Beca was coming by. I didn't realize what she was doing until it was too late."

Stacie grinned, "Mounted you? I'm going to need details, Aubrey lots of details." The brunette slid her body closer to Aubrey's.

Aubrey tried to escape Stacie's grip unwilling to let go of her anger so easily. "I told you sex wasn't going to fix this."

Stacie feigned ignorance realizing that Aubrey needed to let the anger run its course. She was exposed and feeling vulnerable, wanting to take her control back, so Stacie baited her, "I thought you said you guys didn't have sex."

Aubrey let out a frustrated sound pushing Stacie away into the wall next to them. Stacie's back hit the wall with a thud and she looked up seeing the anger turn to hunger in her girlfriend's eyes.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Aubrey was staring at Stacie's lips.

"So what did you mean exactly, Aubrey?" Stacie's voice held a hint of challenge in it.

Stacie half smiled, sexily biting down on her lip and looking at Aubrey through her lashes. Suddenly Aubrey's lips crashed down on hers, biting the brunette's lip and demanding entrance with her tongue.

Stacie's body responded immediately, she grasped the blonde's ass, squeezing and pulling her impossibly closer. Aubrey reached down and grabbed Stacie's wrists without breaking their rough kiss. Slowly she pulled Stacie's arms above her head and pinned them to the wall, kissing the brunette deeply.

Stacie groaned low in her throat, hips involuntarily bucking. Aubrey then guided Stacie's hands to her neck, breaking the kiss to order, "Legs around me. NOW!"

"So hot." Stacie said, wrapping her long legs around Aubrey's waist and her arms around Aubrey's neck. Aubrey braced her against the wall with her body and reached between them, sliding Stacie's shorts and underwear to the side plunging three fingers roughly into the brunette moaning at how easily her fingers delved into the other woman's wetness. Stacie leaned in roughly kissing Aubrey.

Aubrey pulled away from the kiss, panting out; "This isn't going to fix everything."

Stacie groaned, "Do it anyway."

Aubrey paused for a moment looking at Stacie's lust darkened eyes. "Please Bree, don't stop." Aubrey waited a moment longer while Stacie silently begged with her eyes before using slow deliberate movements to start again, knowing it would drive Stacie wild. Stacie tried to bear down on Aubrey's fingers, but was prevented by the blonde's hips pressing her into the wall.

Stacie grinned sexily, knowing two could play at this game, so she dug her fingernails into Aubrey's shoulders and bit down gently on the blonde's earlobe, whispering quietly, "Please Bree." Aubrey grunted and sped up her motions, succumbing to the raw sensuality in Stacie's voice. Stacie bit down hard enough to bruise on Aubrey's neck before soothing it with her tongue, her actions urging the blonde on.

Aubrey pulled Stacie off of the wall, turning her and dropping her on the bed, not breaking contact as Stacie made another low sound of pleasure. Stacie couldn't believe this was Aubrey, sure the sex they usually had was great, but it was tender and caring, Aubrey always shy in the beginning and focused on the give and take of a relationship with her. Stacie thought it was sweet, but she also thought Aubrey held herself back – whenever things would get too heated, the blonde would pull away and slow things down, regaining her control which drove Stacie insane with pent up need sometimes. But this, this was Aubrey at her rawest, most open. As the brunette looked up into the lust darkened eyes of her girlfriend she felt the attraction, finally felt like Aubrey needed and wanted her as much as she wanted Aubrey and it was glorious. This was the passionate Aubrey that was hidden beneath the blonde's controlled exterior.

Hours later as they both lay fully spent, tangled in each other Stacie felt sleep stealing over her and a pleasant ache throughout her body as the even breaths of Aubrey lying next to her lulled her into dreamland.

Aubrey awoke with a start, sitting up in the bed abruptly, covers pooling around her waist. In the dim light she could make out the sleeping form of Stacie. Her girlfriend had her back to her, breathing even and slow. Long scratch marks marred Stacie's otherwise smooth expanse of skin on her back, the sight of which caused Aubrey to inhale sharply in dismay. Reaching out she lightly traced one of the angry lines ashamed at losing control and taking it out on the brunette.

Shakily she got out of bed, trying to piece together hazy memories of her and Stacie's lovemaking. Aubrey snorted to herself in disgust, that wasn't love. She took out her anger on girlfriend. Something she swore she would never do. She was better than him dammit. Feeling sick to her stomach she stumbled into the attached bathroom, dry heaving into the toilet. She realized that she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the day before when her stomach continued to rebel with nothing but bile coming up.

Stacie was beside her in an instant pulling her hair back. Aubrey continued to heave, body rebelling. Stacie's worried voice broke through, "Bree, it's okay baby. I've got you." After a few more moments of this which felt like more like eons, her body relented. Aubrey leaned back on her heels, belatedly realizing she was still naked as Stacie pressed against her.

"Aubrey, what's wrong?" Stacie couldn't hide the worry in her voice, rubbing her hand in a soothing motion along Aubrey's arm as the brunette wrapped her body around her girlfriend. Aubrey pulled away, her body sticky with a sheen of sweat, scooting against the wall. The blonde pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them and hiding her head. Stacie paused in surprise for a moment, unsure of what to do or what was happening here.

Taking a chance she asked, "Was that the first time you've had rough sex?" Stacie's eyes glazed over a bit recalling the night. Aubrey nodded, head still cradled on her arms.

"Aubrey, honey, it's okay." When Aubrey kept her face hidden Stacie pulled her at her arm trying to dislodge it.

Finally after some gentle tugging Aubrey raised her tear streaked face, sobbing out brokenly, "How can you say that?"

Stacie smiled sadly, cradling Aubrey's face in her hands she used her thumbs to wipe away the tears from her girlfriend's face, gently caressing her cheekbones while she spoke. "Aubrey, talk to me, why are you so upset, what happened?"

Whispering, "I hurt you, oh god…"

Stacie gave a start, surprised that Aubrey would say that. She had thoroughly enjoyed what they did last night, finally feeling like Aubrey had let her guard down with her. Feeling the blonde trembling in her arms, Stacie racked her brain trying to figure out what was happening and how she could help.

Before Aubrey could devolve into panic again Stacie pulled Aubrey's face around, the blonde's wild eyes searching Stacie's frantically. Stacie spoke softly but firmly. "Aubrey, I need you here with me and I need you to listen okay?"

Aubrey nodded shakily.

"You didn't harm me."

"But your back…"

"Is fine Aubrey."

"But the marks and the bruises…" Aubrey trailed off, choking back another sob.

"Will go away. But what won't go away is how good you made me feel last night Bree."

"But…"

"No!" Stacie's voice was sharper this time, "Did I ask you to stop?"

Aubrey stuttered out, "N-n-no."

Stacie smiled, "Would you have stopped if I asked?"

Aubrey shrugged, then nodded, head still cradled in the brunette's hands.

Stacie smiled now, "I'm pretty sure all I said was harder and faster with a few oh my god's thrown in Bree. I never asked you to stop."

Aubrey still looked worried so Stacie continued, treading very carefully not wanting to spook the blonde any further, "We were both consenting adults Aubrey. I was really turned on by you and how much you wanted me." Aubrey seemed to relax a little at her words, still searching Stacie's eyes to ensure she was being truthful.

"Aubrey, talk to me."

Aubrey sighed, pulling Stacie's hands away from her face by the wrists. "I just…I don't know."

Stacie ducked her head trying to make eye contact again, "Don't know what?"

"How you can look at me, after…after what I did." The blonde's eyes tracked to bruising along Stacie's collarbone.

Stacie's eyebrows knitted together and she frowned, "Aubrey, I liked what we did. I liked that you finally weren't holding back." Stacie bit her lip, worried about saying more, but finally deciding Aubrey needed to hear this, "Aubrey, I love sex with you, but, you always seemed to be only half present. Like you were afraid on some level to be with me."

Aubrey's eyes widened, "No, I wanted to be with you."

Stacie nodded, "I know Bree, but I always felt like you were still trying to be in control of everything, like you were afraid to allow yourself to feel. Or to show me what you were feeling."

The blonde looked stricken, obviously taking the brunette's words to heart, after a few moments she said softly, "It…I never had…something like this. I'm afraid…"

Frowning Stacie asked, "Afraid of what Bree?"

"Not being good enough, saying or doing the wrong thing, you figuring out I'm too damaged to be in a relationship with…" Aubrey stared at the floor as she rattled off a list she had obviously thought about many times.

A look of worry crossed Stacie's expressive face, "Oh God Aubrey." The lanky woman closed the distance between them, wrapping her body protectively around Aubrey. The blonde tensed as Stacie held her before relaxing into the other woman's arms. "Aubrey, I want to be with you. Hell I pursued you for months, and I worry about those things too." She lifted Aubrey's chin and stared deeply into the other woman's eyes, "I knew we would be good together and I wanted the chance to show you how good I can be for you."

Aubrey searched Stacie's eyes looking for any hint of untruth and finding none finally nestled her head in the crook of the brunette's shoulder, sighing in exhaustion.

Feeling like she was taking a huge step, Stacie breathed out softly, "So now do you want to tell me about the marks on your back?" Aubrey immediately tensed and tried to pull away but she was trapped between Stacie and the wall. Stacie dropped her hands from Aubrey's face and rested them on the blonde's knees hoping to keep her grounded.

"W-what?" Aubrey looked away from Stacie refusing to make eye contact as she pushed herself into the wall feeling the cold metal at her back. She was off balance and afraid. Stacie had traced the thin silvery white lines that crisscrossed her lower back as they lay in bed together multiple times before but had never asked, just continued to trace them until the tension would leave Aubrey. Aubrey had always been grateful for the brunette not pressing her because speaking about it made it real. Made her remember the feel of his belt or whatever he could lay his hands on hitting her skin.

Stacie's eyes were sad, "It was your dad?"

Aubrey nodded still not making eye contact.

Stacie sighed, clasping her hands over Aubrey's, "We don't have to talk about it Aubrey. But I am here if you want to. But I need you to hear this. You. Are. Not. Him." Stacie placed extra emphasis on each word hoping these were the right things to say. "You didn't hurt me, Bree."

The lost look in the blonde's eyes was killing Stacie, she didn't know what to do or say to drive that hurt out. So she did the only thing she could, she wrapped her arms around the blonde, leaning over her knees and whispered, "I love you Aubrey Posen."

Slowly, after Stacie was beginning to think Aubrey wasn't going to move or say anything, the blonde relaxed into her arms, cradling her head in Stacie's neck and whispered back, "I love you too."

Back in the stateroom Beca lay awake with a lightly snoring Chloe draped over her. Sleep had eluded her for most of the night, so she had spent her time composing beats in her head and tapping them out lightly on Chloe's shoulder and back. Even though it had been years since she had held Chloe, it felt nice, like a piece of her was restored. She snorted softly to herself amused at the sappiness the redhead engendered in her without even trying. Beca kind of wished that they could stay like this forever – safe in the silence of the night, but she knew soon enough Chloe would be awake and the talking would begin. Talking about stuff she wasn't sure she had answers for. She sighed heavily at the thought causing the redhead to stir.

Sleepily Chloe raised her head and gave a start of surprise seeing Beca beneath her. She pushed up suddenly causing the brunette beneath her to grunt.

"Hands Beale." Beca said a little breathlessly. Chloe sat up a little straighter moving her hands from their compromising position on Beca's chest.

"Oh God Beca, I'm sorry, I didn't…" Chloe stammered only to be cut off by Beca interjecting.

"Whoa easy there Chlo. It's okay" Beca smiled up at Chloe who was still looking at her a little muzzily as if this might be a dream. She couldn't help but drop her eyes to the redhead's lips before looking back up at the bright blue eyes staring back at her, but chickened out on closing the distance worried about what the redhead was thinking.

"We're cuddling." Chloe said it like she couldn't quite believe it and that maybe by giving voice to it, their position would seem more real.

"Yeah Beale, we're cuddling." Beca smirked.

"You don't cuddle." Beca frowned at the comment, waiting as Chloe continued, "I mean you didn't seem to like it before." It was Chloe's turn to look perplexed, like Beca was a puzzle she was trying to solve.

Beca sighed, "Well as someone really nosey and only sort of smart recently told me, people change." Chloe smiled at that, giggling a little at how exasperated Beca sounded. Beca's heart skipped at the sound of Chloe's laugh. It was warm and bright and the brunette honestly couldn't remember the last time she had heard it. She smiled automatically in return before trying to school her features back into her impassive mask and failing.

Chloe smiled leaning in to rub noses with Beca, "Beca Mitchell is cuddling with me."

Beca groaned halfheartedly before smiling back, "Don't tell anyone, I have an image to protect you know."

Chloe reached up and ran a finger along Beca's cheekbone before trailing it down her jawline. Beca couldn't hold back a shiver at the gentle touch. "I adore your smile Becs."

"Yeah well, I kinda adore you." As soon as the words left her lips Beca wanted to smack herself, but the redhead draped all over her was preventing any movement. Chloe outright beamed at that.

"Who are you and what have you done with Beca?" She teased good-naturedly.

The only answer was a heartfelt groan from Beca.

Chloe sobered a bit before continuing, "What's my silence worth, Mitchell?"

Beca raised an eyebrow and cautiously replied, "Um, what did you have in mind?" She could feel Chloe practically vibrating with excitement and she was smart enough to be worried at that.

Instead of answering right away, Chloe lifted up, repositioning so that she was now laying half on top of Beca, snaking her leg between the brunette's and pressing down a bit. Beca's breathing sped up, her body reacting immediately, hands circling and resting on the small of Chloe's back. Chloe was smiling, but it wasn't her happy smile, it was that smile that always set Beca's pulse racing, the smile that promised all sorts of delightful things were in store.

Chloe didn't close the distance, instead she hovered, close enough for their breath to mingle. Beca realized that Chloe was waiting for her to make a decision and she realized she didn't want to think about any of this anymore – about who was wrong or right, or what they had to talk about. She missed the redhead in her soul and being this close to her again was healing parts of her that she had ignored for so long. She closed the distance between them, leaning up and capturing soft lips in an almost chaste kiss. If Chloe was surprised she didn't show it, kissing Beca back gently.

After a few moments Beca pulled Chloe closer and ran her tongue along Chloe's lips in an invitation to take this further. Chloe opened her mouth drinking in Beca immediately as both of them lost themselves in relearning each other. Chloe's hips bucked and she broke the kiss, trying to bring her breathing under control afraid of pushing Beca too far before she was ready, but Beca had other ideas. Ignoring the voice in the back of her mind that insisted this was a bad idea Beca chased Chloe's lips raising her leg to put friction.

Chloe's hips bucked again and the redhead couldn't hold back a breathy moan, her eyes fluttered open and she looked down at Beca with lust darkened eyes.

"Are you –" Beca didn't let her finish, snaking her hand behind Chloe's neck she pulled her down into another passionate kiss. Chloe didn't fight the sexy moan that left her throat this time. Beca's pulse raced even faster at hearing the sounds the other woman was making. When Beca's hands grabbed Chloe's hips pulling her down, she grunted and Beca matched her rhythm, pulling away slightly to look at the scorching hot sight of Chloe Beale grinding down on her, lip between her teeth and eyes closed tight as the pleasure sent tremors through her toned body.

Beca slid her hand in between their bodies and traced Chloe's abs, letting her fingers linger a moment at the waistband of the redhead's shorts. Chloe opened her vivid blue eyes, locking gazes with Beca's navy ones and nodded her permission. Beca smirked, hoping it was at least a sexy grin as she slid her fingers lower, enjoying the feeling of Chloe's smooth skin.

"OH MY GOD." Beca was thrown for a minute – looking questioningly at Chloe wondering why she sounded like Aubrey.

"You're both going to be late." Chloe's eyes widened and she scrambled off of Beca, almost falling out of the bunk. Beca lunged and grabbed her arm at the last second, sitting up and facing a scowling Aubrey who was blushing in embarrassment at having interrupted the two. Seeing two sets of eyes staring back at her in confusion she waved towards the door.

"We have Hand-to-hand training in like ten minutes." The blonde folded her arms and raised an eyebrow when they both still lay there frozen.

"Let's go!" Aubrey clapped her hands breaking both women out of their paralysis. Seeing that they were indeed moving, Aubrey headed to the door, pausing at the threshold, "I'll just let you both finish…getting ready."

Beca's eyes widened and she regarded Chloe in shock, "Did Aubrey just make a joke." Chloe bit her lip to keep from smiling and shrugged.

Beca fell back on the bed feeling as if her body had just finished running a marathon and groaned. Chloe pushed her lightly. "C'mon, let's go beat up on the boys."

As they both changed into their work out clothes, Beca tried to act like she wasn't watching while Chloe smiled coquettishly at her, catching the unsubtle glances Beca was throwing at her. The shorter woman started to follow as Chloe made for the door only to pull up short as Chloe turned around.

"What did you forget something?" Beca looked around to see what Chloe could possibly be looking for, only to have the redhead grab her shoulders and pull her into a forceful kiss that made her actually feel weak in the knees. So much so that when Chloe let her go she stumbled a bit before regaining her balance. Beca couldn't help but smile a little goofily at Chloe, before realizing what she was doing and coughing to cover her embarrassment.

Chloe smiled knowingly at her and then opened the door, Beca rushing after her and hoping she didn't have any hickeys anywhere visible or she would never live this down.


	19. Chapter 19

It turns out that Beca wasn't the one who had to worry about hickeys.

Beca burst into the stateroom waving her hands, "Dude, I was just trying to protect her!" Stopping abruptly inside the doorway she whirled around causing Stacie to pull up short to keep from running the smaller woman over. "Bumper is such an asshole, you should have let me punch him."

Stacie smiled thinly back at her before sliding past her further into the stateroom. "Like I said Sparky, I had it handled."

Beca crossed her arms and glared up at Stacie, "How is sending him to medical with a broken nose, handling it?"

Stacie shrugged and smiled a little wider, arching an eyebrow for good measure, "My hand slipped."

"You don't hit in the face! You should have punched him in that big gut of his." Beca mimed a gut punch while she was explaining.

Stacie laughed openly, "Easy there mad midget, you'll pull something. Besides, don't I remember you punching some guy in the nose back at the station?"

Beca glared back at her, "Exactly and that's how I got in trouble, so learn from my mistakes Conrad! You are lucky the XO had already left!" Someone clearing their throat behind them made both women jump.

Aubrey Posen was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, practically vibrating with fury. "What were you thinking!?" Her voice sounded like she was barely controlling her need to shout at them.

Chloe was standing slightly behind her with a worried look. The redhead reached out placing her hand on Aubrey's shoulder in a calming gesture that Aubrey shrugged off.

Beca held her hands out in front of her, dropping her chin and fixing Aubrey with an incredulous stare, "Are you serious right now?" Stacie's eyes went wide at Beca's backtalk and she grabbed ineffectually at the small woman who continued with her rant, "We were standing up for you! What did you expect us to do?"

Aubrey advanced in the room with Chloe pulling at her arm, "What did I expect you to do?" the pitch of Aubrey's voice dropped the room several degrees and Stacie visibly shivered. Beca just continued to glare, refusing to cower before the blonde's anger.

"Yeah. I'm not apologizing for defending you dude, though I don't know why I bother when you are such a –" Stacie pushed Beca to the side, stopping her rant.

"Beca!" Stacie hissed glancing quickly at the seething blonde, "Not helping!"

Beca pushed back, folding her arms, "What? She's mad at you too. You know, her girlfriend? The person who is supposed to protect her?"

Aubrey pushed them apart while Chloe gaped open mouthed at what she was sure would be a bloodbath soon if Beca didn't shut up.

"How about letting me fight my own battles?" Aubrey looked at both of them, "I don't need you to fight for me! I am not some helpless damsel in distress."

Stacie stepped in breaking Aubrey's line of sight to Beca, "Bree, I know, but he was saying shit and I just…"

Aubrey cut her girlfriend off, "Bumper was saying shit because you couldn't control yourself and left love bites all over my neck!"

"Who calls them love bites?" Beca muttered from behind Stacie, causing the lanky brunette to elbow her into silence.

Stacie turned back to Aubrey looking perplexed. "But you're hot." Offering the statement as if it explained everything.

The blonde advanced on Stacie, poking her in the chest, "You know better!"

The lanky brunette frowned, "Um, yeah but I was distracted." She lifted up a finger to trace the line of Aubrey's neck over the bruising and it was the blonde's turn to shiver.

Aubrey backed up out of Stacie's reach, not willing to let this go so easily, "You know better!"

"I know better?" Stacie lifted her shirt, showing bruises that made a crescent moon design around her belly button and dipped below her waistband. Chloe had come up beside the women and reached out a hand absentmindedly to trace the design only to have it batted away by Aubrey. The redhead looked at her best friend as if to say, 'What? How can you blame me?'

Aubrey shook her head, trying to salvage some of the fury she had earlier. Stacie realized she had better capitalize on her opportunity and closed the distance between them, tugging on Aubrey's sweaty t-shirt until their bodies were pressed together. She leaned in running her nose along the line of Aubrey's neck, "I just wanted to be there for you." Stacie's voice had a husky quality to it that made Beca blush and Chloe smile while Aubrey looked like she couldn't decide between pushing Stacie away or pulling her closer.

Beca cleared her throat behind the couple and Aubrey pushed off of Stacie, though with less anger than before. Now the blonde looked unsure of herself, looking between Stacie and Beca she stepped back again, gathering herself. Stacie was smart enough to wait, unwilling to push Aubrey, but she was hurt over Aubrey's reaction even though she understood the blonde acting out, last night hadn't been about control between the two of them. Stacie brightened, she suddenly got what this was about, Aubrey, was still off kilter with what happened and her perceived lack of control. Then Stacie frowned, still unsure of how to help her girlfriend deal with this.

Chloe saved her from having to do anything, approaching the blonde and laying her soft hand on Aubrey's forearm. "Bree, they were just trying to be there for you. We know you can fight your own battles, "Chloe paused caressing Aubrey's forearm with her thumb in a soothing motion, "but when you have people that care, you don't always have to fight alone."

Aubrey looked up, confusion warring with some other emotion as she regarded Chloe quietly. Beca realized she was holding her breath and let it out in a sigh that snapped the older woman out of whatever headspace she was in. Aubrey narrowed her eyes at Beca, but allowed Chloe's hand to stay. Aubrey held out her other hand to Stacie who immediately clasped it, stepping back into the blonde's space. Chloe used the opportunity to step around the two women towards Beca who fought against her body's natural desire to step back. Instead the smaller woman fidgeted with the hemline of her shirt as the redhead tilted her head, watching Beca for a moment before capturing the other woman's face with her hands and kissing her.

Stacie smiled at Beca's noise of surprise and turned to Aubrey, "Come on Posen, nobody needs to see that." Chloe broke the kiss with Beca and looked over her shoulder smiling cheekily at Stacie while Beca blinked owlishly trying to slow her heart rate down. Aubrey sighed, letting Stacie lead her out of the room.

Chloe turned back to Beca who was clenching and unclenching her hands as if unsure where to put them. The redhead reached out, taking Beca's hands in her own and placed them on her hips pulling in Beca so they were nose to nose.

"Hey." Chloe said softly, rubbing Beca's nose with her own.

"Hey." Beca echoed back. "What was that for?"

"For standing up for Aubrey."

"Oh." Beca frowned around the word. Chloe leaned in and brushed her lips between Beca's eyebrows, smoothing away the worry line forming there. The redhead started kissing Beca in earnest, smiling into the kiss when a low groan escaped Beca's throat.

Chloe moved lower trailing wet kisses along the column of Beca's throat smiling again when she was rewarded with another low sound from the back of Beca's throat. The smaller woman stayed passive allowing Chloe to lead, the only movement she offered was the rhythmic clenching and unclenching of her hands that were gripping the edge of the t-shirt covering Chloe's hips. When Chloe reached the divot at Beca's collarbone she bit down gently, smoothing the slight sting with her tongue. Beca's hands went to Chloe's neck and she threaded one through Chloe's hair holding the redhead in place.

Chloe smiled again, then continued to bite and lick the area pulling Beca's hips tight against her moaning when she felt the small woman buck into her. She pushed Beca against the desk, inserting her leg and pushing up so her thigh made contact with Beca's center. Beca responded by gripping Chloe's hair tighter and pulling her up, kissing her hard while her hips moved against Chloe's.

Chloe dropped her hands to Beca's ass, holding her against her thigh and encouraging the slim woman's grinding. They both broke from kissing, leaning foreheads together, panting to try and catch their breath. Chloe pulled back a little opening her eyes and watching as Beca bit down on her lip, lost in the moment and trying to reach her release. A distant knocking threw Chloe off her rhythm, making Beca drop her hand to Chloe's ass to keep the redhead where she needed her.

"Beca?" Jesse's voice broke through their haze, both women freezing in place. Beca dropped her head onto Chloe's shoulder groaning.

"Just a minute." Beca was proud of how even her voice sounded though she wasn't sure a minute would be enough to collect herself, especially when she was still pressed against Chloe's heaving chest.

"Tell him to go away." The redhead's voice cracked halfway through.

Beca squirmed, pulling away from Chloe with a muttered apology, "Can't, it will be quicker this way." She headed a little unsteadily for the door leaving an unamused redhead to stare after her.

Flinging open the door, Beca found Jesse fidgeting on the other side. "Hey Becs," he hooked a thumb over his shoulder, "You gonna join us for lunch?"

Beca looked at him, her mind taking a minute longer to shrug off the haze that kissing Chloe had left her in, "I, um, what?"

Jesse grinned, "You, me and the gang…lunch?"

Beca ran her hand through her hair looking back over her shoulder at Chloe, Jesse saw her and said, "Oh hey, Chloe can join us too."

Beca's eyes widened as she saw the redhead gathering a water bottle and her workout towel. "Chlo, where are you going?"

The redhead smiled a too sweet smile and pushed past Beca and Jesse, "Going the gym, but thanks for the invite Jesse."

Beca broke out of her moment of frozen surprise to call after the redhead, "Wait, Chlo."

The redhead just waved calling with forced cheerfulness over her shoulder, "See you later!"

"Ugh." Beca ran her hand through her hair in frustration. Jesse stared after the retreating woman in confusion.

"What just happened?"

"Hell if I know." Beca huffed out. Then looking at him she sighed, "Let's go get lunch."

Beca fell into step next to Jesse as they made their way towards the wardroom, replaying what just happened in her head. At her frustrated sigh Jesse craned his head around, "We could talk about it you know."

Beca glanced up sharply, "Talk about what?"

Jesse smiled indulgently at her. "Come on Becs. I'm not blind." He considered his words as Beca walked silently beside him, opting in the end to go with a straightforward approach. "You guys back together?"

Beca eyed him out of the corner of her eye and sighed again, stumbling through an answer, "Yes…no…shit I don't know."

Jesse throws up his hands, "What do you mean you don't know?"

Beca glares, "I don't know okay."

It is Jesse's turn to eye her. He and Beca had been friends for years and in that time he had learned how to read her, knowing when to push and when to let Beca come to him. She had always been closed off, but he liked being the one she trusted enough to confide in. He had hoped for more with her years ago, but now couldn't imagine it being different. They both knew what it was like to be the only child and he thought of her as his sister.

"She saw us." When Beca finally spoke Jesse looked at her in confusion.

"Saw us what?"

"Kissing." Beca looked at him like he was a little slow for not picking up on that.

Jesse laughed, then seeing how serious Beca was he sobered up drawing out the syllables, "Okkkaaaayyyy. But that was forever ago."

Beca shrugged, opening the door for Jesse to the wardroom, they entered to find Luke already at the table with Benji and Jessica laughing at a story Sophia was telling. The group smiled and waved as Beca and Jesse made their way over to the table. It was a family style meal so the food was already set out on the table. A nice change from getting food paste from a dispenser.

The protein and vegetable matter was at least shaped to resemble organic food usually but it was rare enough for them to get real vegetables from the gardens, they were usually put into soups and foods that went a little further than just a family style meal. The Arcturus was equipped with vast hydroponic gardens that helped with scrubbing the carbon dioxide from the air and grew some easy to maintain super vegetables but they had been damaged in an earlier confrontation with the Gaks which led to concerns of radiation contamination of the produce so this was a rare treat for the officers.

As Luke handed over a bowl of some leafy green vegetable Beca sniffed it and spooned some on her plate under the watchful glare of Sophia, adding an extra spoonful after Sophia tutted under her breath, rolling her eyes at the other woman's mothering. Jesse sat down and ruffled her hair she passed him the bowl. They conversation picked up again around them, Sophia telling them about the time they tried to get a goose into their XO's stateroom on a rare earth visit. Beca listened to them half-heartedly, replaying events with Chloe in her mind and trying to figure out what she was going to do about the temperamental redhead.

Jesse bumped her shoulder good-naturedly keeping his voice low, "You should just talk it out."

Beca glared back and tucked into the meal, shoveling food in her mouth as an excuse to avoid the discussion. Jesse sat back knowing he wouldn't get anywhere.

Between Sophia, Luke and Jessica the conversation kept going, leaving Beca alone in her thoughts for the most part. She understood the need for them to talk this stuff out, but it was hard for her to push to start that conversation. Chloe had seemed like she was ready to put everything behind them. The slim brunette blew out a frustrated breath realizing she was just going in circles with this. Beca looked up to catch Sophia watching her.

"What?"

Sophia shrugged, "You tell me."

Beca mimicked the other woman and shrugged, "Nothing to tell."

Sophia looked like she was about to press the issue when their communicator's chirped in unison. Benji was the first to read his, "Briefing in thirty minutes."

Jessica looked at everyone, "Wonder what's happening. The XO didn't say anything this morning."

Luke nodded, "Well guess we'll find out soon enough."

The rest of the meal was spent speculating on what was going on with each scenario more outlandish than the last. Finally the group filed out of the wardroom and down the hallway into the squadron's briefing room. The XO and CO were already there setting up for the brief. Chloe and Aubrey were in the front row. Aubrey looked at the group entering nodding by way of greeting while Chloe was talking over the back of her seat to Cynthia Rose. Beca hesitated for a moment before heading to take a seat with the group she walked in with.

The XO turned around and did a headcount. Once she was sure everyone was there she clapped her hands for their attention.

"Okay team, let's get started. We have a lot to go over today." The room fell silent as the XO continued. "We have a new objective. Intel suggests there is a structure, possibly a space station in orbit around a star system in GJ 436. Our job is to head to this star system and investigate. Because we do not know what we are walking into, we will have all hands on deck for this mission. The Ramblers and Black Wolves will be providing air support. The Wildcards will be on escort duty.

We will be working alongside Recon One and Two as a ground unit for this mission either planetside or station side depending on what Intel tells us. Once we are close enough to assess the area, we will determine if there is a planetary component. Any changes to the plan or objective will be covered on approach." Aubrey and Chloe exchanged a look at the sheer amount of forces designated for this mission.

The XO continued after a pause, "We believe that time is of the essence on this one, so mission objectives will be downloaded for the squad leaders with strict checkpoints."

Gail looked around at the assembled Marines, seeing their eager open faces and prayed this mission was as straightforward as it sounded, though she knew that was rarely the case.

"The CO and I will be linked with Intel running tactical on this, so we'll be with you every step of the way. You guys launch in T minus 10 hours. So go get your gear ready and get some sleep."

After the CO and XO filed out Aubrey had them spend the next hour checking gear and weapons before sending everyone to bed. Beca had tried to get Chloe alone, but there was never a good moment. The redhead was the first one done stripping and reassembling her rifle so had beat Beca back to their room, Aubrey had stayed behind with Donald to finish the final status checks.

When Beca entered the room Chloe was already in her bunk, Sophia took one look at Beca and made some lame excuse about checking in with Luke before tomorrow. Which left the two of them alone. Beca stared forlornly up at Chloe's bunk, watching the rise and fall of Chloe's breathing and the tense set to the redhead's shoulders which showed she was awake.

Huffing in frustration and running her hand through her hair Beca spoke to Chloe's back, "This is stupid." Beca watched as Chloe stopped breathing for a moment. "I know you're awake."

Chloe sighed, "I don't want to talk."

"I can see that Beale." Beca looked around the room, trying to think of what to say, she looked at her Spartan desk, devoid of the pictures and knick knacks she had accumulated before being taken prisoner and were probably incinerated already. Her space here was empty and sterile. She felt a pang for the things she had lost and then felt worse when she realized she was pining over things, when she had lost so much more. She was at least alive, the rest of her squadron wasn't so lucky.

"You're really going to do this now?" Beca's voice sounded strange to her own ears and it took her a moment to realize she was the one who had spoken.

"Just go to sleep Beca." Chloe's voice was muffled and Beca thought it sounded like the redhead had been crying.

Not giving herself time to overanalyze this Beca climbed back up in Chloe's bunk. The redhead stiffened but didn't say anything. Beca tugged on her shoulder, Chloe allowed the movement twisting slightly to look up at Beca with puffy eyes. "Chlo…" Beca's voice was filled with sadness and understanding. She knew Chloe was someone who felt things so deeply, she used to think she was broken because she didn't feel connected to anything really. Until Chloe came along. Chloe made her feel, messy jumbled emotions that she had no practice with and no real frame of reference for outside of being with the redhead.

Being apart had been hard. Beca had spent more time than she was willing to admit pining for the redhead and in the silence of space it was easy to drift into daydreams of what could have been. Chloe had become this abstract ideal. Now that the real woman was in front of her Beca was even more at a loss. Because now her body remembered what it was like to hold the redhead close, to share the same space and see those blue eyes looking at her so intensely that she felt stripped bare. But it also meant that the prospect of losing Chloe was all the more real.

The blank space in Beca's memory was troublesome and in the past few hours snippets of memory had started to return, but they were phantom feelings mostly, slipping in and out of her mind, always on the periphery. She remembered Chloe in the blackness though, or some feeling that made her think of red hair and blue eyes. She also remembered what it felt like to lose the redhead and to lose herself, so for Chloe to treat what was between them so cavalierly worried Beca. She didn't want to put off a conversation knowing that tomorrow may mean they never got a chance to.

Chloe must have read some of what Beca was thinking in her gaze or maybe she felt the same way. Whatever it was, the ginger opened her arms and Beca slid into them, laying her head on Chloe's chest and taking comfort in the beating heart beneath her ear. She drew in breath to speak and Chloe automatically tightened her grip.

"Don't." Beca paused at the redhead's heartfelt plea, she remained silent but moved so that she could look up at her.

Chloe looked back steadily, "We'll talk about it when we get back."

Beca's brows knit and she was about to protest but Chloe cut her off again. "We'll come back and talk. That's the only option for tomorrow, okay?"

Looking at the redhead for another long moment, Beca pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded, laying her head back on Chloe's chest. Chloe sighed and tightened her embrace.


	20. Chapter 20

Chloe leaned over Aubrey, bracing her hand on the overhead while they studied the schematic overview of the space station that long range scans had returned.

The station was a decrepit hodgepodge of modules that looked like shantytown of structures haphazardly connected to each other. On the other side of Aubrey, Donald whistled low at the size of the structure. "How is that not on any records? It is massive."

Chloe nodded her agreement, "More importantly how is it still in orbit? That thing looks ancient."

Aubrey leaned forward, "If it is a standard layout engineering should be there," she pointed to a central section of the station, "with the central hub a few decks above."

Chloe hummed pensively, "Nothing about that looks standard."

Donald put his hand on Aubrey' shoulder leaning in further to study the diagram, "You still want to go with three teams?"

The blonde captain worried her bottom lip with her teeth for a moment before replying. "Yes, Bumper's team can take engineering. Scans are showing low level power still active on this section." Aubrey pointed to a thick section towards the bottom of the structure. "We can insert above, split up and cover as much ground as we can."

Donald nodded, "That looks like it was built before Gravity Generators were invented, zero G will make this interesting."

Chloe looked at another screen, "The scans aren't returning much information. Though it looks like radiation levels are elevated which could be interfering with them."

"If that is old tech, it could be the radiation shielding deteriorated. That was a common issue in the first long range space flights. We can't tell from here but it is better to be safe than sorry." Aubrey looked over at Donald, "Tell the team to prep for radiation."

"I hate those pills." Donald made a face and turned to pass word to the Marines behind him in the transport hold.

Chloe used the brief moment alone with Aubrey to voice her misgivings about the upcoming mission, "I don't like it Bree."

"What?" Aubrey turned her distracted gaze to skitter over Chloe before returning to the screen. The blonde was already mulling scenarios and contingencies over in her head.

"This Bree, this feels wrong and seeing that thing," Chloe shivered involuntarily, "I just have a bad feeling about this."

Aubrey looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to them before she responded, "It's the job Chloe." Turning back to the screen she didn't want to admit that the rolling feeling in her gut apparently agreed with Chloe.

Chloe studied at Aubrey's profile for a moment before whispering, "You feel it too."

After a long silence, Aubrey finally offered, "Doesn't change anything." The blonde pilot sighed, "I think it is just because we had to change the squads up."

Looking behind them through the doorway into the hold where theirs and Donald's fire-teams were sprawled out Chloe echoed Aubrey's sigh, "I wish Stacie and Beca were with us."

Aubrey spared a glance at the Chloe, "You know it has to be this way."

"I know. Still sucks."

The blonde captain hesitated wondering if she should even give voice to her next thought, but decided it would give them both something else to focus on besides the upcoming mission and her accompanying feeling of impending doom.

Chloe noticed Aubrey woolgathering, "Bree?"

Aubrey turned to focus on Chloe, choosing her words carefully "I'm just surprised. I thought you might be happy Beca was on a different team."

Chloe folder her arms protectively in front of her stomach but didn't answer right away. Aubrey waited and when it was obvious Chloe wasn't going to respond she continued, "I mean when I walked in she was in your bunk, but looked like someone just kicked her puppy."

Turning back to Aubrey, Chloe looked forlorn and lost, "She's a runner Bree." Taking a steadying breath she continued, "I'm just worried this will be more of the same, she'll get me all wrapped up in her again and the minute it gets tough she'll bolt. I can't go through that again."

"Chlo, I can't help but think you're the one running here?" Aubrey said it so that it came out as a question and with Chloe's sad eyes staring at her she huffed out a sigh, "I may not be Beca's biggest fan when it comes to you two being together, but you shouldn't lead her on either."

"I know. I told her we'd talk after this mission. I'm just scared." Chloe toed the floor with her boot. Aubrey wanted to stand and hug the redhead but tamped down on the urge.

"You should have that talk and they're both with Donald at least." Aubrey wondered if she kept repeating that to herself, if it would make her feel any better about not having the two women with them where she could keep an eye on them. Telling Stacie she had to take her off of her team had been hard, but the lanky brunette had taken it in stride and just hugged her telling her she understood.

Back in the hold, Stacie and Beca were having a similar discussion. The two of them were at the very back of the transport giving themselves a little bit of privacy from the rest of the squadron since Bumper's team was flying in on a different Badger.

"You're making a face." Stacie ribbed Beca. The smaller woman was stretched across several of the jump seats and was making a face while her mind wandered. Beca had been trying unsuccessfully to fight down the unease at going back in to action, running over her conversation with Aubrey. Truthfully though she was more unsettled at leaving things up in the air between her and Chloe. It felt wrong somehow to go into this without some resolution.

Beca sat up abruptly when Stacie spoke, not realizing the other woman was so close. The lanky brunette dropped gracefully into the seat next to Beca.

"I don't like it either."

"Don't like what?" Beca feigned ignorance. She had an idea at what the other woman was getting at but didn't want to admit it out loud.

Stacie watched Beca sit there silently and rolled her eyes, "You know what."

Beca turned away, folding her arms and groused, "Whatever."

Eyeing the smaller woman a moment, Stacie finally asked quietly, "You get things squared away with Chloe?"

Beca risked a sidelong glance at Stacie before returning her gaze forward. Just when Stacie had given up on the other woman responding Beca finally sighed. "No." Shaking her head she continued almost as an afterthought, "But I tried. She didn't want to talk about it."

Stacie lifted and eyebrow in surprise. "Really?"

It had hurt to have Chloe wake up all sleep tousled and beautiful in her arms only to scramble out of the bunk claiming she needed a shower and keeping up a steady stream of back and forth with Sophia before escaping from the room. Beca had shared a look with Sophia before climbing out of the bunk to start getting ready, hoping that Chloe would come back and talk. But by the time the redhead was back Aubrey was in the room and the mood had shifted as they all got their gear ready to bring to the hangar.

Beca looked at Stacie, her gaze troubled and the level of emotion the other woman was showing took Stacie aback. She was used to the aloof and detached Beca. She almost didn't recognize this version. "Yeah, she gave me some b.s. about waiting till we were back from this."

It was Stacie's turn to sit quietly thinking over what Beca had said before sharing, "Aubrey, told me she had to switch the squads and then begged me to be careful."

Beca snorted lightly, "Maybe they switched bodies?" Then thinking over the implications of what she said, the small woman grimaced, "Wait, forget I said that."

Stacie laughed, "It might make more sense. Aubrey is communicating and Chloe is avoiding everything." Both women sat there lost in thought for a few minutes before Stacie's face took on a far-away gaze that Beca recognized.

"Gross!" The shorter woman smacked Stacie on the shoulder, "Stop imagining them naked."

Stacie smiled brightly, feigning innocence. "What?"

Beca fought back her own grin at the other woman's infectious humor, "Dude, I know that look."

Stacie laughed loud enough for a few of the squadron to turn towards them, "You should, it's the way Chloe looks at you all the time."

Beca shoved Stacie good naturedly, almost up ending the other woman from where she was sitting as the tall woman laughed. Donald appearing through the doorway sobered them up, though Stacie's lips still twitched with amusement while he was filling them in on the situation and handing out the radiation pills.

Donald came back from the hold, handing Aubrey and Chloe large pea green pills before asking, "Find anything else?"

"Chloe's right about the radiation. That planet's moon looks like it pulled the station into a higher orbit which the shielding was definitely not rated for." Aubrey pointed to the readout as Donald leaned in to look for himself.

"So time limit? Say three hours max?" The dark haired man offered.

"Let's hope it doesn't take that long." Chloe said lowly.

"That should be safe. Though we will have to go through decon on the ship." Aubrey replied.

Donald grunted unhappily at the thought of the long decontamination procedures.

Aubrey pushed away from the tactical console slightly, turning to face her friends, "Okay, I've downloaded what I can of the layout to our scanners, you guys make sure the others are ready to go while I brief Bumper on his objective and check in with Minstrel."

Donald mock saluted before turning and following Chloe aft to get the teams ready.

Thirty minutes later the Badger was approaching their designated airlock. Stacie leaned against the small viewing window, "Wow that thing is even uglier up close."

Donald banged his rifle butt on the ground, grabbing everyone's attention, "Okay you guys know the drill. We don't know what we'll find on the other side of this airlock, so stay frosty and watch your buddy's back." He looked around at his team a second letting that sink in before continuing, "Since CR and Angel are our Geek Squad on this, they're in the middle with the gear, Mitchell take point, Kolio you have our Six and Sophia with Mitchell."

Sophia laughed, "Great. That means I'm really on point since Beca's too tiny to make a proper target."

Beca smirked back in response, flipping off Sophia with both hands.

Aubrey cleared her throat staring at Chloe she hesitated considering the conversation about how she always put Chloe on point. The redhead gazed steadily back at Aubrey cocking her head slightly at the blonde. After a moment Aubrey let out the breath she was holding, decision made, "Chloe on point, Benji and Jess with the tech gear and Jesse watch our backs."

Chloe smiled softly at Aubrey, squeezing the blonde's wrist gently in acknowledgement as she went to the door to take up her position.

The rest of the Marines took their position on either side of the door. Aubrey raised her arm, pushing several buttons on her wrist unit as Donald mimicked her actions, "Marking three hour countdown in three…two…one…mark." Both pilots pressed their buttons and then lined up in the gangway waiting patiently as the Badger pilot relayed the docking sequence.

Chloe spared a glance at Beca who was lined up next to her. The younger woman looked like a kid playing dress up in her battle armor, the helmet looked too big for her head, the glare of the visor made it hard for Chloe to read her eyes.

Beca smiled grimly back at Chloe, wondering why the redhead was staring. Joking around with Stacie had helped her feel a little bit better about the mission. "What? Did Stacie put another damn Hello Kitty sticker on my helmet?"

Chloe barked a laugh at the memory of Beca's helmet being covered in the pink and white obnoxious stickers. The small woman had fallen asleep with her helmet on during a training mission while they were midshipmen at Barden Station. Stacie had used the opportunity to decorate Beca's helmet with the stickers until you couldn't see the green metal below. Beca had went through the rest of the mission irritated with everyone giggling around her. It wasn't until they had returned to their transport and she had taken her helmet off that she realized what was so funny.

"Did you ever get her back?" Chloe asked with amusement in her voice.

Beca bit back a smile and threw a look over her shoulder where Stacie was grinning back cheekily, "Revenge is a dish best served cold. Very cold."

The sound of the metallic clamps locking down cut off any further chatter and Chloe put her hand on the lever for the airlock, waiting for the green light to show it was pressurized.

As soon as it went green, the redhead looked over her shoulder at Aubrey. Nodding the tall woman gave the go ahead order.

The outer airlock opened with a woosh of air and Beca went through to the secondary door waiting for Chloe to take a ready position beside her.

Aubrey's voice echoed a little, coming over their radio with a slight delay and echoing behind them, "Okay team, here we go." The sound of weapons being readied echoed in the small space. "Open it Beca."

Author's note:

Sorry it is a little shorter than I would like, but this is the best part to break the chapter at - especially since the next chapter is going to be more involved, I didn't want to make people wait.

Back to back coast to coast flights gives me plenty of time to plunk away at my keyboard at least.

Please read and review! You have no idea how motivating the reviews are and it helps me make the effort to write when all I want to do is sleep :)


	21. Chapter 21

Author's note: I listed the "cast" with their call signs on a tumblr post since my updates are so few and far between lately I felt like it would be hard to remember who belongs to what call sign– if you want to check it out:

Missingthemuse dot tumblr dot com/post/130638232162/the-greater-share-of-honor-call-signscast-list

While you are there – check out the awesome edits wms5012 did for the story on their FFPSE blog

Ffpse dot tmblr dot com

We get to see Beca, Stacie, Chloe and Aubrey!

And also so sorry for being a space cadet about posting…

Chloe had a love/hate relationship with being on point. She loved the adrenaline rush that came with not knowing what was waiting on the other side, but she hated surprises. This meant that being the first through a door or into a situation gave her the best of both worlds – she got the adrenaline rush that came with risking her life and she got to beat the crap out of whatever surprise was waiting for her on the other side.

This time was no different except for the steady presence of Beca next to her. She glanced at the smaller woman as they waited for the docking clamps to connect. If Beca noticed her staring she gave no sign, staying focused on the handle that would open the hatch for Chloe to go through. Chloe said a silent prayer that she and Beca would get to have that talk.

Aubrey's voice echoed a little, breaking Chloe out of her thoughts, coming over the comms with a slight delay while she stood behind them in the transport. "Okay team, here we go." The sound of weapons being readied echoed in the small space. "Beca, open it."

The inner airlock door opened with the tell-tale pressurized "woosh." After waiting a beat Chloe advanced into the dimly lit hallway. Emergency lighting lined the floor giving the space a sickly yellow glow. As soon as the redhead entered the space, lights started flickering on, illuminating the grungy off-white walls. The automatic lighting gave an eerie feeling of being watched, Chloe paused waiting to see if anything else would happen.

"Motion sensors." Beca supplied in a hushed voice from behind her. The slim brunette glanced at her surroundings feeling like she was in one of the old movies that had been made before space exploration had become commonplace. Shaking her head slightly she cursed Jesse under her breath for making her watch the one about aliens on a freighter. Turning her attention back to Chloe, she waited for the redhead to move.

Nodding to acknowledge Beca's comment, Chloe stepped further in, feet landing firmly on the floor, "Gravity too." She paused a beat and then reported over the comms, "Hallway is clear. Door twenty meters ahead."

"Well at least we have gravity," Donald commented to Aubrey as he trailed after the women into the space. Then he continued, more out of habit than anything else, "Everyone stay on your re-breathers, we can't be certain if there is a biological threat present." The Marines nodded their acknowledgement.

Aubrey was next to speak, "Okay, let's get moving, continue Rider." The blonde woman had moved directly behind Beca and it was all the smaller woman could do not to jump when the blonde placed her hand on the slim brunette's upper arm. She felt Aubrey squeeze her shoulder in reassurance through the thick mesh of her suit. Beca nodded without turning around, waiting a beat for Chloe to get a few steps ahead before following.

The two teams passed several minor hallways that Aubrey and Donald marked to come back to later if they had time. Several rooms turned out to be storage areas, with building supplies still sealed in crates. Benji and Stacie were carrying a special optical camera that used all spectrums of visible and invisible light. The two Marines were busy using them to analyze the contents of the boxes.

The Marines were spread out over one of the storage rooms examining the contents of the crates. Stacie was running her heavy duty scanner to see if there was anything out of the ordinary present but so far they had just found building materials both for colony use and space station use.

"The crates used to have Shinrika stamped on the side, it looks like they removed it on purpose." Aubrey glanced over Stacie's shoulder seeing the ghostly outline of the branding illuminated on the screen. To the naked eye the crate was just a gray box.

"Shinrika? You think they built this?" Donald asked Aubrey.

CR piped up from across the storage area, "They are in the business of building space stations. But theirs don't usually look like they were designed and built by a drunk monkey."

Jessica added, "Shinrika's in the business of everything. My parents work for their fabrication section. They make everything from shoes to pre-fabricated buildings for the colonies."

"But where's the profit in this?" Sophia wondered aloud, "They're usually after prime real estate and build their space stations in the major shipping lanes between the colonies. This isn't even close to another settlement, so what were they out here doing?"

"Let's hold off on jumping to conclusions, like Jackal said, they're in the business of everything, so maybe they just sold this stuff to whomever did build this." Aubrey looked down triggering her suit's computer to project an illuminated schematic on the floor. She pointed to the section where a red dot was blinking in almost the center of the station. "Socks, we have an elevated power signature throughout those sections that is strong enough to cut through the interference."

Donald looked at where Aubrey was pointing, "That definitely didn't show up before."

The blonde Marine followed up, "Take your team and check it out, we are going to head down a few decks. It looks like they may have had a hydroponics bay and living quarters; we are getting increased carbon readings from that area." Chloe shot her a look, obviously unhappy with splitting the teams. Aubrey ignored her and put the lid back on the crate she had been looking through.

Before they could move out Bumper's voice echoed over the comms. "Valkyrie, this is Bumper. You want the good news or bad news?"

Aubrey exchanged a look with Donald before replying, "Bad news first, Bumper."

"We have signs of sabotage down here. Several main systems were damaged. Most of the station is running on a backup system that we triggered by docking apparently. But it looks like they didn't finish the job for whatever reason." Bumper paused while a follow on conversation could be heard in the background. "Wonderful." He said after a moment in reply, "Ghost just informed me that this is in fact an ancient space station. Or at least it started that way. The fuel systems are compromised so we have several major leaks of rocket fuel among other things."

"That's really corrosive." Chloe exclaimed.

Bumper continued, "Yeah, apparently Ghost almost fell through deck plating it had eaten through."

"What's the good news?" Aubrey asked.

"We found engineering logs. Apparently these guys were old school so we have paper logs that cover at least a few years. We're still searching to see if they have digital logs. Denise is going through the most recent paper ones to see if there is anything relevant."

Donald broke in, "When was the last entry?"

Bumper asked someone off mic and then came back, "Looks like fourteen months ago is the most recent we have found. But just boring shit about pressure differentials on the pumps and maintenance routines for the life support systems so far."

"Alright, keep us posted on anything else you find. Be careful in case they left any surprises behind." Aubrey ordered.

"Aww, Valkyrie I am touched you're concerned. We'll be careful – Ghost put that down!" Bumper mumbled something under his breath and then finished, "Bumper out…Ghost I said…" the mic finally clicked off and Chloe bit back a smile.

"Socks be careful, they may have tried to sabotage other areas." Aubrey cautioned before motioning Chloe to move out.

"You too Valkyrie." Donald replied, then shifted his attention to where Beca was waiting by the door. "Nomad, I sent the layout to your HUD, take your time."

Beca nodded her understanding and he moved to take a position next to Stacie, using her eye movement to load the layout onto the screen of her facemask. The 'Heads-Up Display' or HUD, allowed her to access a real time map of the station so she didn't have to look down at a scanner. She could control it with her eye movement. After committing the next few rooms to memory Beca switched it off and waited for Donald to finish handing out assignments.

The slim man continued, motioning to Stacie, "Angel, make sure we are scanning for any and all explosives. I don't want any surprises."

Aubrey was on her way out of a door when she looked back quickly at hearing Stacie's call sign, catching the tall brunette looking at her. Stacie smiled and mouthed, "Be careful" before turning and following Donald out of the room. Aubrey hurried to catch up to her team smiling softly to herself, warmth at the other woman's concern chasing some of the foreboding away.

It became apparent soon after they left the storage areas that the previous occupants of the station had left in a hurry. Furniture was left upended, papers, cups and other belongings were left scattered about. It was eerie, with the lights flickering on and off at their motion adding to a growing sense of unease. Three sections later they found that not everyone had made it out alive. Pushing through a hatch that was only half dogged down Chloe had frozen in surprise just inside the door.

"Rider?" Aubrey enquired a hint of worry in her voice at Chloe's abrupt halt.

Chloe moved inside the room tentatively, waving Aubrey forward, "Looks like something bad happened." Aubrey followed close at her heels and felt her stomach lurch uncomfortably at the carnage inside the small space. A streak of what looked like dried blood went from floor to ceiling with a mutilated body slumped against the wall.

"Arterial spray." Jessica murmured almost absently. Several other bodies lay sprawled across the deck. All of them were mutilated beyond recognition.

The Marines were no stranger to carnage, having a practiced detachment garnered from years of bloody conflict, but even so Chloe felt herself swallowing back bile at the sheer savagery of the attack that had left the remains in pieces. She was grateful that her suit was a closed breathing system so she didn't have to smell the decay. The far doorway was open and hanging almost off of its hinges.

"Jesus, what did that?" Jesse had just stepped into the room behind Benji and both were gaping at the damage to the heavy door.

"Whatever did it could still be around. Weapons hot." Aubrey raised her rifle for emphasis and nodded towards Chloe. The redhead nodded, moving to take a position at the far door without a word. The blonde then turned to Jessica, the light inside her helmet illuminating the slight sheen of sweat on her temple. "Jess, see what the scans say. I want to know what we are dealing with here."

Benji groaned, "This means decon will take forever."

Jess looked back at him and smiled, "Hey look on the bright side, maybe this is the time the radiation mutated bacteria turns us into superheroes." Benji smiled back brightly, eyes lighting up at the possibility.

"Dude, mutant bacteria doesn't usually end well." Jesse held up a hand to head off the argument he saw forming on Benji's lips. "Besides Spiderman okay."

Aubrey turned to look at diagrams on the wall, not really seeing them, but wanting any excuse to look away from the bodies on the floor. She ignored the banter happening around her, concentrating instead on just breathing. She swallowed back the lump forming in her throat at seeing the bodies, or what remained of them on the floor. Her mind kept wanting to flash back to the deep red that covered her hands after carrying Chloe back to the transport. The blonde jumped when Jess laid a hand on her armor's shoulder pad.

"Hey Aubrey," Jess paused, pretending not to notice Aubrey's obvious discomfort. Smiling gently in understanding she waited for the Captain to turn to her. When Aubrey finally looked up, she continued, "The scans are showing human and animal DNA strands along with something...weird."

"What do you mean?" Aubrey cursed the confining helmet. She really wanted to brush at the sweat that insisted on dripping down the side of her face despite the climate controlled environment the suit offered.

"Well, it doesn't register as any of the chemical compositions for known life, but the scanner says it is biological in nature." Jess looked back at the bodies on the floor, suppressing a shudder, "Whatever did that to these people, might be something we haven't seen before. The samples here are pretty degraded though, and with all of the radiation we can't really be sure."

Aubrey stood there for a moment lost in thought at all the implications before finally shaking herself out of it. "Right, well let's go find some answers Marines." Chloe nodded and stepped through the doorway.

_Meanwhile, in a different part of the station:_

Donald's team had made relatively good time through the first few sections of the station. They were mainly storage rooms filled with building material. Now, they encountered dead end after dead end. Some sections were so heavily damaged that the connection doors had sealed and others looked like they were deliberately decoupled.

"This is like a shantytown version of a space station," Sophia grumbled into the comms after their third dead end caused them to backtrack, "Everything is stacked on top of each other."

Stacie snickered at the comment, while Kolio challenged, "What would you know about shantytowns anyway?"

Sophia threw a quick glance over her shoulder at him, "I grew up in the east side of Old Philadelphia."

Cynthia Rose whistled low in sympathy, "That's harsh."

"Focus, people." Donald's chastisement silenced the group.

Beca grimaced, they had spent the better part of thirty minutes going through rabbit like warrens of corridors that seemed to either end abruptly or turn back in on themselves. Gravity seemed to fluctuate in this section, right now it was a little more than earth standard which made the task of climbing through the debris that much harder.

"Nomad, hold up." Donald walked over to Stacie, checking the scanner she held for a few moments before straightening up. "Okay guys, we're almost there. Only a couple more sections to go."

"That's what you said three sections ago." Beca mumbled to herself.

"I heard that Nomad." Beca turned surprised eyes back at Donald. The slight man just smiled good-naturedly and nodded. "Move out."

Two sections later after climbing through debris and overturned furniture Aubrey's voice came over the comms, almost startling Beca into tripping over a file cabinet. "Socks, we have found casualties and evidence of a fight. Hostiles may still be present."

Donald knit his brows, but didn't question her, "Copy Valkyrie."

"We are continuing with our search." Aubrey paused, "Just…be careful."

Stacie turned to look at Donald who stared steadily back at her a moment, both recognizing the strain in Aubrey's voice. Donald took a breath then responded, "You too Valkyrie." He nodded at Stacie and then addressed his fire team. "You heard Valkyrie. Eyes open Marines. Nomad, when you're ready."

Beca smiled grimly, briefly making eye contact with Stacie before turning to continue leading their push deeper into the station only to be stopped moments later by a blockaded door. Sophia and Donald had pushed up next to her, jimmying the door open with a metal bar only to find several heavy objects stacked against it on the other side.

Sophia stepped back from the door, steadying herself on the uneven flooring by holding onto a grommet on the wall. "This extra gravity isn't helping."

Donald looked at the mess barring their way, "Angel, any other routes available?"

Stacie shook her head, "No we already tried the two alternatives. Only way is through here or all the way back to where we left Valkyrie."

"That will take too long." Sophia offered. Donald nodded and looked around, weighing his options.

"So anyone else feel like this was deliberate?" Cynthia Rose questioned, looking at the way the debris was set.

"Are explosives an option?" Donald queried.

Cynthia Rose typed something in to the scanner, "No, too much structural damage. Even a shaped charge risks spacing us and half of what's left of this section of the space station."

Beca looked at the bottom of the doorway, bending down to peer through a small opening. Sophia grunted, "Your tiny Beca, but not that tiny." Beca waved the taller woman over.

"Look, if we can raise that up a bit, I might be able to slide through." Beca turned to look back at Donald, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I don't like it Nomad, you could end up trapped on the other side." Donald looked at the scanner over Angel's shoulder. "Plus, we can't be sure something isn't waiting for you on the other side."

Beca looked at the steep angle of the section they were in. It was already set at over a forty-five degree cant, forcing them to brace themselves on the wall or risk sliding back down.

"It's the angle right? It's too steep for us to push this stuff past whatever is there. I get on the other side and can try and move it, or at least see if I can cut through it." She used her hands to mime a sawing motion, "We can't do that on this side without it falling on top of us." She paused a beat while that thought sank in then continued, "Plus, we really don't have time to take the long away around."

Donald looked at Sophia silently asking for her opinion. Sophia shrugged, "Yeah, I don't have a better plan."

Stacie gave her a funny look but Donald interrupted before she could say anything.

Sighing Donald turned to face Beca, "Okay Nomad, but if anything seems weird you get back here right away."

Beca gave a lazy mock salute, then turned and knelt by the opening, handing the metal bar back to Sophia. The taller brunette moved up next to her and positioned the bar in the opening. She made eye contact with Beca, "Ready?"

Beca laid on her stomach and pushed her rifle through the opening, "Go."

Grunting Sophia pulled up on the bar, moving the debris with the sharp sound of groaning metal echoing in the small space. As soon as Beca saw the opening widen she pushed through the tight space, holding her breath in an unconscious effort to help herself through the small space.

The grinding of shifting metal on metal quickly turned shrill. Beca grabbed the edge of a large slab of flooring that had broken loose and was now covering most of the doorway. Muscles straining with effort she pulled herself through the tight space, hearing Sophia groan, "Hurry Beca."

She wriggled through the last few inches and panted out, "I'm through."

Sophia let go of the bar and the debris shifted with an ominous thud, closing off all but a few inches of space.

Donald's worried voice came over the comms, "Nomad! Are you okay?"

Beca responded, voice winded from the exertion, "Yes. I'm through."

"What's it look like?"

Beca pursed her lips, looking at the haphazard pile of metal sheeting, rigid flooring and plastic paneling that covered the door. She turned and looked behind her, groaning at the steep rise of this connecting module. It would be a difficult climb to get to the next section.

"Nomad?" Donald prompted again, voice tinged with concern.

"Oh uh, yeah." Beca shook her head to clear her jumbled thoughts. "I think I can move enough of the debris and stuff, but we'll have to climb to the next section. Beca turned her helmet's recorder on and sent the images of what she was looking at back to her team. "It will still be a tight fit, though."

"Right, we'll do what we can from here." Donald moved everyone away from the opening except for Kolio and Sophia who helped Beca work the debris loose, sending a section of it crashing below, the entire station corridor shuddered at the impact.

Cynthia Rose shouted up to Beca "Easy there mighty midget! This whole corridor is unstable."

"Bite me." The breathlessness from exertion took some of the punch from her reply. Beca really wanted to be able to wipe her forehead, having already banged her gloved hand against the face shield once forgetting the barrier was there.

Fifteen minutes later Beca poked her head over the edge, still panting from the effort required to move the junk. She had opened a big enough section that the team could wiggle through one at a time. The rest of the team formed up and climbed through the opening.

CR reached down, helping Stacie stand after the brunette pulled herself through the opening. Once the lanky brunette regained her feet, she made a show of adjusting her boobs earning a laugh from the rest of the squad. Beca rolled her eyes and started climbing up the corridor.

"You still good to take point Nomad?" Donald asked after he had pulled himself through the opening.

"Yeah Socks." Beca ignored the burning in her legs and arms from the heavy lifting, just happy to be moving again.

"We're close now, to what looks like their Science Wing." Cynthia Rose reported. Donald motioned them forward and the team started crawling up the side of the hallway section, using the corridor's natural joints to pull themselves up to the next section.

Beca no longer considered being shorter than average a flaw. Sure her height required a waiver to get into flight training and she usually had to bribe the mechanics to tweak her jet so that flying was more comfortable. But she had found that being small meant she could curl up and sleep just about anywhere. Where her tall friends were uncomfortable in the jump seats, she fit snugly, with their disgruntled glances showing that they wished they were small for once. Where her height still bit her in the ass, however, was climbing like this. She swore the suit was supposed to help, it did have motion assist joints after all, but it still made her feel bulky and slow; the gear she had to carry felt like it weighed almost as much as she did.

"Doing okay there Nomad?" Sophia's teasing tone broke Beca out of her musings.

"Ugh, yeah. Peachy." Beca grunted out as she swung her foot over the last edge of the conduit and into the junction between the two sections. She quickly leveled her rifle, noticing the door hanging off of its hinges and signs of battle damage on it and the surrounding walls. She felt Sophia come up next to her and when her hand landed on her shoulder Beca still jumped slightly even though she was expecting it.

"We've got signs of a firefight here. The area is too narrow for all of us." Sophia reported to the others.

"Take it slow and steady." Donald radioed back. The others weren't far behind but the landing they were on was too small to fit more than a few people, so they would have to push forward. Sophia tapped her shoulder and Beca moved as silently as possible into the room.

The doorway opened up into a spacious room, at least by space station standards. It looked like a research area with long waist high white tables that looked like they belonged in a college chemistry class. The area was trashed as if a hurricane had blown through.

Beca and Sophia had paused just inside the door, taking cover behind one of the tables.

"We're at the landing. Report." Donald's voice came over the comms.

Beca spoke first when Sophia remained silent behind her, "It's some type of lab with lots of expensive broken shit on the floor now. Looks like power may be iffy in this section, some of the lights are blinking." The short brunette paused in her description, knitting her brows trying to place the eerie feeling of familiarity that she had standing here in the lab.

Sophia picked up where Beca left off, "Definitely a lab. Looks like Genetic and Biological testing. No sign of whatever did this though."

Beca frowned, there was an edge to Sophia's voice that she couldn't place. She chanced a glance back at the other woman and saw her normally tan skin looking distinctly ashen even for the poor lighting in the suits.

Switching to private comms, Beca asked softly, "Hey, everything okay?" Sophia's eyes whipped to hers and she pushed Beca lightly forward.

"Let's check it out Nomad." Beca raised an eyebrow at the other woman's deflection but didn't push. She raised the plasma rifle and moved towards the far end of the room, dropping down quickly when the lights suddenly turned on. After waiting a beat where she was sure her heart was going to thump right out of her ribcage Beca felt Sophia nudge her from behind. "Motion sensors."

The rest of the squadron filed in taking up defensive positions in the room. Once they were certain everything was secure, Donald nodded to Stacie and CR, "Angel, Trips, see what you can get off of their computers." The two women started trying to revive some of the computer banks.

Nodding to Sophia he continued, "Jack, take Nomad and Pieces and check out the next room."

Sophia turned, following Beca to the far doorway, smiling softly as they heard CR cursing ancient technology and drunk monkeys.

Sophia opened the hatch to the next room watching as Beca and then Kolio entered quickly and quietly. She followed blinking away the mild disorientation as the lights flickered on around them.

"Holy fuck." Beca breathed out in surprise, fighting the rising nausea in her stomach as memories came rushing back.

"What the fuck are those?" Kolio asked, fear tinging his tone.

"Focus. Nomad forward, Pieces left and I'll take right. Clear the room." Sophia laced some steel into her tone, though she completely echoed their feelings. The room they had entered was still a lab of some sort but there were huge tanks lining the walls. The tanks filled with a greenish liquid that looked thick and viscous. Misshaped forms that belonged in some gory freak show hovered in suspension within. Umbilical tubes ran from them into the ceiling and ground, connecting to the base of the tanks.

"I'm counting six broken tanks." Beca's voice sounded strained and Sophia fought to keep her mind off of the greenish liquid and confining tanks. She kept seeing that liquid around her, smothering and choking her. She could tell that Beca was remembering now too. A loud crunching broke her out of her flashback and she looked around quickly to where the other woman had stepped on a glass, shattering it underfoot. Sophia swallowed thickly and saw a matching look of horror on Beca's face when she turned to look back at her.

"Not now," was all she said, Beca nodded woodenly back at her. The shorter woman moved almost on auto pilot to the rear of the room and tried the door there, trying in vain to push the images flashing in her mind.

After unsuccessfully trying to activate the door controls she said, "No good, it's hermetically sealed I think." Beca pointed to the hinges and doorframe that were thicker than the other doors on the station.

"Well if these things are out here, I am okay with that door staying sealed." Sophia responded. Beca gave a quick nod then both women jumped when they heard Kolio yell. In an instant the two women were on the move towards him, weapons humming as they primed.

Beca skidded to a stop next to him, rifle pointing to the corners, looking for the threat. Kolio pointed unsteadily to the floor next to one of the tanks, half hidden behind an overturned table. Beca slid around, weapon up as Kolio stood there rifle hanging loosely in his grasp.

"Fuck." Beca sucked in a breath at the size of the carcass on the floor. It was reddish black, with a gaping wound in its side that exposed yellow ribs. The creature had bled liquid that was now dried black on the floor with ropes of entrails spilling out of the wound, making it look like it had given birth to snakes. The small woman did her best to repress a shudder at the sight, but failed.

At the sound of Kolio's yell the rest of the team had entered the room, remaining silent, but alert. They waited with raised rifles for the others to signal it was clear to approach. Turning now, Beca waved Donald over, keeping one eye on the thing on the floor, hoping it was really as dead as it looked and wouldn't leap up like some zombie. She really was happier before Jesse made her watch all of those old horror movies.

Donald stared at the thing at their feet and at the tanks around them before keying his microphone, "Valkyrie, there's something you need to see here. We may have hostiles loose."

" -s. Re- - st - ." Aubrey's voice cut in and out, a thick crackling static causing everyone to wince.

"Valkyrie this is Socks, you are broken and unreadable over."

"Socks,-ing -loc-ken -able –- -er."

Sighing he keyed his mic one more time, "Valkyrie, in case you can read us, we are going to attempt to head your way. Station corridors are heavily compromised. Socks over and out."

Donald shook his head, motioning to Stacie and CR to come further into the room. He typed into his keypad trying to send a text message to Valkyrie and grunted when it failed to send. "This section must have dampeners active, no comms are going through."

CR and Stacie walked up with Stacie turning away quickly at the gore on the floor.

After a moment of looking at the monstrosity laying on the deck plates, CR growled, "I fucking hate scientists."

"Hey!" Stacie frowned and tapped CR on the helmet lightly in admonishment.

CR grumbled pushing Stacie away gently, "Just because you wised up and joined the Marines instead of becoming some egghead, doesn't mean you need to get all violent on their behalf."

Stacie winked at CR, "Science isn't bad."

Donald cleared his throat ending their banter. "Can you guys get any of this tech working? I want to know what we are dealing with here.

"Sure thing boss." Stacie sidled over to what looked like the main computer console, sitting her rifle down against it, starting to flip switches in an attempt to get the system to turn on. While she was fiddling with the controls Beca came over to stand next to her and away from the tanks.

Several seconds later the system came alive with a low hum. Beca's gaze was drawn away when Cynthia Rose rapped her fist against another console that had some damage to it. A tray with what looked like black bricks with gold plating slid out. "This tech is new."

Donald frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Well the rest of the station looks pretty old, yeah?" She paused, pointing at the black bricks in the tray for emphasis, "This is a new quantum drive, better than military grade here." Donald nodded at her but it was obvious he didn't understand what she was getting at.

"What CR is saying is that this is some crazy computing power here." Stacie continued to fiddle with her keyboard while she spoke, "We're talking like computing genomes for an entire planet in seconds here." The rest of the Marines just stared back blankly at her. "Sheesh, would it kill you guys to read the tech news? They put it in the wardroom every week you know."

Beca wiped her glove over her mask as if trying to wipe away a smile, "Um, if you ever see me reading tech news please know that I have been possessed by the geekiest demon ever."

Stacie's grin at their banter turned to a frown, hands still flying over the keyboard of the console in front of her, "Oh shit."

"What did you do?" Beca couldn't keep the worry from entering her voice.

Stacie started frantically punching keys on the interface. "Nothing! It shouldn't do this." The tall woman glanced over at Cynthia Rose, "CR, need you here."

With a hiccupping whir the machines in the room started to turn on, red lights blinking and turning over to green as the tanks. Donald raised his rifle, "The tanks are lighting up. Angel what's happening?"

Grunting in frustration Stacie replied, "The system is rebooting."

"Can you stop it?" Beca waved the hand not holding her rifle for emphasis.

CR had joined Stacie at the console looking over her shoulder, while the green lettering scrolling on the screen below reflected eerily on her helmet, "Whoa, this shit is in Chinese."

"Japanese," Stacie replied distantly, attention focused on gaining control back of the system, "you can tell by the Hiragana."

Beca raised an eyebrow in surprise at the other woman, "Can you read it?"

Stacie shook her head, "Not well enough for this."

"Fuck, can we get Lily?" CR asked.

"Way to stereotype dude, her grandparents were from Jersey, back on Earth." Beca huffed.

Donald broke in, "Fuck Jersey, I want to know if these tanks are going to open." He paused, watching as another tank lit up. "You know what, never mind. Angel, Trips try and fix it – the rest of you get behind something."

"Why don't we shoot the tanks before shit wakes up?" Kolio asked.

"No!" Stacie jumped in, "From what I can tell, that could trigger everything to wake up as a failsafe. Plus I can't determine what the chemicals are in those tanks, they could be flammable."

Kolio nodded, "Right, fire bad." He still eyed the tanks uneasily.

Beca pushed slid in behind one of the long tables where she had a good view of the tanks on the far wall. "Socks, if we have to leave in a hurry, we can't go back the way we came."

Donald turned to look at her from across the room. "Fuck. You're right, still too much debris across that doorway."

CR looked down at her scanner, "The only option is through that door ahead. Looks like another lab. We head there and through two more rooms and we hit the section that heads towards where Valkyrie's team went." CR moved her glove across the screen, "I think there is a section that heads towards engineering too. But it looks like there is a fuel leak showing in the section that connects this module to Engineering.

Beca looked back over her shoulder at Donald, "Can we just shut everything down?"

Stacie shook her head, "No, I think that is why they blew engineering. I can't shut this down from here, the systems are compromised and working off of backup power, which follows a different line."

Sophia made a noise of disbelief, "They blew up half of the station to prevent whatever is in those tanks from being released?"

"Can we get that door open?" Donald asked Stacie.

Beca raised an eyebrow, "Do we want to get that door open?"

"Valkyrie and the rest of our team are on the other side of that door," was all the brunette replied with, ignoring Beca in favor of concentrating on the console in front of her. CR was at the adjoining workstation trying to jury-rig a connection from her scanner to the system.

A few moments later CR looked over at Stacie, "I'm in. Give me a sec and oh…fuck."

"Now what?" Beca huffed.

"Shit, this is bad." Stacie echoed CR's worried glance.

"What is happening?" Beca contemplated smacking CR's and Stacie's helmets together to see if it would help them complete a sentence.

CR turned her scanner so Stacie could read it, "This was deliberate."

"What was deliberate?" Donald asked.

Stacie shared a look with CR before continuing quickly, "Someone introduced a virus into this system. Someone wanted this to happen."

"So, bottom line it for me," Donald was losing patience with the two and their tech babble.

CR continued doing something with the scanner, "Look it will take a while to decompile this, but it looks like whatever virus they introduced was meant to overload the systems and release the locks on the tanks."

"I'm trying to countermand the virus, now that I know what to look for I might be able to slow it from propagating." Stacie pointed at keypad next to the console. "That opens the next door, and I'm blind to the systems over there. Everything is going to be online in a few minutes, so we can try and make a stand here or see what is behind door number two."

Donald shared a worried look with Sophia. They both understood that there were no good decisions to make here.

"Aubrey's team could be headed this way if they received our transmission." She figured talking it out might help. "We don't want them walking blind into whatever is on the other side."

Kolio frowned at the two Captains, "It's been months right? Shouldn't everything be dead anyway?"

Donald raised an eyebrow, "We are only assuming months, hard to tell but this carcass looks more recent." He looked around at his team, "So we plan for the worst case and hope for the best." Nodding at Sophia he turned to the rest of the Marines. "Form up, we're going through that door. Stacie, CR, you have sixty seconds to download whatever you can and then we're getting out of here."

"Already on it." CR disconnected her scanner and reached down for the quantum drive, placing it in her backpack.

Stacie gave one last look at the console and tore herself away with a groan, "Okay, I did what I could, but whatever we're doing we might want to hurry."

Donald nodded, "Game faces people." He paused feeling the energy in the room shift from one of wariness to a calm determination. "Open the door Angel."

*************************************************************************************Friends, readers, wanderers – it is apparent that I really could use a Beta (and a very, very long vacation from work and life). After re-reading this story on the plane again, I realized I am letting too many errors through – even simple ones and that kills me.

Having a Beta would hopefully help me stick to a better schedule as well – I had an absurdly tough time with this section and the next one, spending spurts of time trying to proofread and rework problematic sections. I also wanted to make sure I am capturing all of the story elements and not forgetting anything. A Beta would allow me to bounce ideas off of someone and to have another pair of eyes checking my work and making sure I am tying things together properly. I left out half a chapter by accident in a previous chapter…that having a Beta hopefully would have prevented.

The downside of being a Beta, other than dealing with me and my ridiculous work schedule, is that it would involve spoilers. Though I would try to keep spoilers to a minimum, there is quite a bit of backstory, world building and setup happening. You would get access to my One Note where I have all of the research etc. though that might be fun as I have several other snippets of things there, like a fight scene between Gail and Chloe that I really wanted to use but did not fit where I wanted it originally so it had to be scrapped.

The benefit of being a Beta would be having a positive influence on this story and we could maybe work out a deal where I write a story you want to see . You would also have all of your questions answered!

If you are interested – take a chapter and Beta it – tell me what you would fix, what you would have commented on, or wanted to see presented differently. Then let's talk and see what we can work out.


	22. Chapter 22

On the other side of the station, Aubrey's team was on its third detour after encountering damaged sections that had blocked their progress towards the Hydroponics Bay.

"So the question is, did they want to keep people in, or out of, Hydroponics?" Jesse wondered out loud.

Benji looked over his shoulder at him, "Either option is sort of terrifying."

Jess pulled Aubrey to a halt, "They fought hard to protect something." She paused, voice strained, "There are bodies in the next section…a lot of them." In front of them was a door hanging halfway off of its hinges.

Chloe approached cautiously, edging into the dark space with the team trailing in after her.

Ten minutes later, the team walked somberly out of the section, which was once some type of school. Benji closed the door and slumped against it. The rest of the team leaned against the walls of the hallway. Jess sniffed, holding her helmet in her hands.

"What…what could even do that?" The normally peppy woman turned watery eyes to Aubrey, looking for an answer that could wipe away the horror they had just borne witness to.

Aubrey ignored the question, she knew there was no explanation anyone could give that would erase the images from their minds. Images that were burned to the back of her eyelids – Aubrey could see the broken outlines when she closed her eyes and she sighed knowing that they would revisit her in her nightmares. Looking around the blonde Captain saw the same realization in her teammate's eyes. Some horrors stayed with you, no matter how much you tried to forget.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Aubrey knew they had to keep moving. Despite taking several deep breaths the Captain couldn't keep the shakiness out of her voice, "Jess, we need to find a different way back." The blonde woman nodded brokenly, staring blankly at her scanner for a moment before coming back into herself, finally punching commands in.

Once Aubrey saw her start moving again, she willed her voice not to waver, "Let's go team."

After leaving the broken bodies behind, the tension was palpable in the air, sitting heavy and giving an eerie quality to the echoing of their footsteps in the passageway. Seeing the carnage and not being able to do anything about it left them all on edge, anger giving a new heaviness to their movements. Aubrey watched Chloe's hand tighten rhythmically on her rifle as the redhead led them through the maze of passageways. The fifth time she saw it, she could have sworn Chloe's hand was shaking before it clenched the rifle's handguard.

"Everyone halt." Aubrey commanded quietly. "Jackal, Wizard, I want a broad spectrum scan."

The two Marines nodded and fiddled with their scanners. Up ahead of Aubrey, Chloe was braced against the doorway peering into the next darkened section, continuing her rhythmic squeezing. Aubrey knew Chloe was fearless, almost to the point of recklessness, so seeing her hand shake was concerning. She approached her quietly, Chloe somehow sensed her presence and turned to face her friend. Aubrey saw blue eyes that were wearier than she could ever recall seeing them.

"Hey." Those weary blue eyes turned questioning and Aubrey froze for half a second under the weight of their gaze, forgetting what she was going to say. A moment later she replied on their private channel.

"Hey. Everything okay?"

"What?" Chloe frowned, dropping an eyebrow in confusion, "Yeah…why?"

The tall blonde nodded to Chloe's hand where it was gripping her rifle. A momentary look of panic flashed across the redhead's features, though it was gone as quickly as it appeared. Chloe straightened a bit before replying. "Um…just tired is all Bree."

Aubrey raised an eyebrow, "You sure?" The blonde looked back over her shoulder to where Jess and Benji were still fiddling with the scanners before turning back to her friend. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

"Uh, yeah…sure…but I'm fine…really." Chloe stumbled over her words, making every syllable seem forced. Aubrey frowned hard at Chloe's uncharacteristic stuttering, but was prevented from pursuing her line of questioning by Donald's voice breaking over the comms.

"-al- - - -om- you -ed - hostiles - - "

Aubrey and Chloe shared a worried look at the broken message, then Aubrey keyed her mic. "Socks repeat your last, over."

"—alk- - - -ocks -un-able -"

Valkyrie turned her head, putting her hand to the side of her helmet instinctually as if it would help the reception, "Socks, we are checking your location. Comms are broken and unreadable, over."

Aubrey waved her hand at Jess and Benji, while she strained to listen.

"Al—ie-we-." The comms ended in a screech of static that had everyone reflexively clutching at their helmets.

"Ow." Aubrey turned to where Jess and Benji were standing, "Benji, Jess? Any idea of what's interfering with the comms?"

Jess shrugged, "Not sure, it could be the radiation…"

"Or the shielding," Benji finished.

Chloe looked over from where she was braced against the doorway into the next section, "Socks wouldn't have called unless it was important." The unsettled feeling in her gut started when they set eyes on the station and was only getting worse the deeper they went. Aubrey locked gazes with her for a moment, nodding slightly as if reading her mind that they needed to hurry to help their friends .

"Jess, can we see them on the scanner?"

Benji was standing looking over Jess' shoulder as she banged her hand against the device in her hand. He answered while she continued fiddling with it. "We have their last known position entering what we think is the Science Wing."

Jess nodded, "That was approximately fifteen minutes ago, since then the signal's been bouncing around, which means the interference is covering more than one band."

Aubrey keyed several commands on her wristband, in a moment a map of the known station projected from her helmet onto the wall. "Jess, show me their last position and get me a route there."

"Uh right," After a few clicks, the blue dots started blinking on Aubrey's map and showed Donald's team's path ending in a dark area of the map after their signal was lost.

Benji walked up to the map, pushing a button to display a yellow line following a convoluted path that backtracked several times through the station. "Angel and Trips marked obstructions along their path. It looks like we can get pretty close, but we don't have good data past that point." Benji pointed a gloved hand to the section where the yellow line met the blackness.

"Let's hope this section is intact then." Jess pointed to a long unexplored hallway between where they were and the Science Wing. That looked like the only open path to the section.

Aubrey keyed her comms, "Only one way to find out, let's go."

Chloe set a brisk pace, the worry that was sitting low in her stomach spurring her on. A few minutes later Aubrey quietly reminded her there were possible hostiles. With a nod, the ginger pulled back a little, slowing her pace and stepping through the doorways and easing around the corners with a little more care.

Several minutes later they reached a back corridor that led to what looked to be maintenance tunnels, little used and littered with debris. A dark streak trailed along the floor of the corridor, it ended abruptly in a pool of dark dried liquid, gathered below a mangled body slumped against the wall. A spanner wrench lay in the congealed pool of liquid.

Benji pointed to the coupling jutting out from the wall near the corpse, "I think they were trying to disconnect from the central hub.

Jess nodded, "That makes sense with the damaged sections we saw…maybe the damage was deliberate."

"Whoa, why would they disconnect from power and life support?" Jesse asked.

"Because that was a better alternative than facing whatever was killing them." Aubrey looked around, "But we'll worry about that later. Right now we have people to find, let's move." The blonde tapped Chloe on the shoulder, signaling they were ready.

The team moved through the tight corridors quickly and efficiently, their muffled footsteps were the only sound that broke the oppressive stillness.

"There is an open area fifty meters ahead." Jess spoke quietly as if afraid to break the silence.

"Any idea if our people are there?" Aubrey questioned, voice pitched low.

Jess shook her head apologetically, "Negative. Still getting too much interference." The slim woman hated the way her voice echoed in her helmet.

Aubrey keyed her mic, "Rider, get…" the heavy whine of plasma rifles being fired in the distance broke the oppressive stillness. A second later, an explosion rattled the station, sending the Marines tumbling to the floor.

Chloe caught herself, sliding a hand down the wall for balance and was on her feet in an instant, pushing forward to the end of the hallway towards the sound of the gun fire. The rest of the Marines regained their footing a few paces behind her. Aubrey helped Jess up and shouted for them to go, mentally cursing Chloe as they gave chase.

Chloe rounded the corner, sliding to a stop several feet into a room that was as wide as several football fields. She quickly registered that the room was split into three sections, low lying walls serving as the dividers between what looked like animal pens. Up on the far wall was a mezzanine platform with a broken railing that ran the length of the far wall with several stairwells descending from it. The redhead swallowed a cry at seeing Kolio and Beca standing on the mezzanine and firing at several forms the size of small horses. The beasts staggered slightly, then shook off the plasma fire, advancing steadily towards the beleaguered Marines.

In the doorway to the mezzanine there were flashes of light, signaling another firefight happening inside and cutting off any possible escape for their friends. Chloe dropped to one knee, wrapping her rifle sling around her hand several times to lock it in. Bracing her elbow on her knee, the redhead pulled the stock snugly into her shoulder, leaning her cheek on the smooth stock she sighted down the rifle. Taking a deep breath, Chloe flipped the switch that increased the power setting to a sniper caliber shot, aiming deliberately at the monster bearing down on Kolio and Beca. She hesitated a split second as her hand jumped, settling her breathing she pulled the rifle tighter to her shoulder.

Up on the walkway the beast was towering over Kolio, swatting his rifle away, the creature reared back on its hind legs. Chloe fired once, the charged shot impacting the beast, throwing it into the wall. It howled in pain and anger, a howl that was echoed by its companions and sent chills down her spine.

Beca and Kolio scrambled backwards trying to put space between themselves and the creatures that were advancing again. Three of the creatures turned, eyes burning bright with intelligence to where Chloe was kneeling in the open and broke off, loping with the easy stride of a predator towards her position. Chloe was focused on her sight, listening to the telltale hum as her rifle charged its next shot. When the pitch evened out she breathed in, and squeezed the trigger gently.

The creature that remained on the mezzanine lunged at Kolio but Chloe's shot struck true, bouncing it into the wall again, but wasn't powerful enough do more than just piss it off. Kolio's scream echoed over their comms as the creature's claws tore into his chest, knocking him off of his feet. Beca yelled at the creature, sending a flurry of point blank shots into its large head. Beca's repeated fire along with Chloe's more powerful second blast managed to stagger it. Stumbling under the onslaught the creature fell backwards taking Kolio with it.

Another creature darted past its mate, closing the distance too quickly for Beca to react. Roaring, the creature backhanded the small woman, sending her careening into the edge of the walkway, her ribs impacting the railing with an audible thud. The blow knocked the wind out of her despite the thick combat armor she was wearing. Beca tasted blood as she clung to the railing, pushing herself upright, she turned quickly, shaking off her the pain in her chest, fully expecting to watch the creature eviscerate her in the next breath.

Chloe's hand was shaking in earnest now, she had clamped down on every urge she had to scream Beca's name when she watched the creature lunge at her through the scope. The redhead's last shot had staggered the monster that gored Kolio, leaving it dazed but now its packmate advanced on Beca, swaying lightly side to side in an oddly fluid motion for such a large beast.

Chloe was sighting down the barrel again, doing her best to push past her internal voice that was screaming at her to hurry, to save Beca, as the beast advanced with deadly intent.

She could see Beca scrambling back, firing ineffectively with her sidearm and forced herself to be calm, with deliberate motions to line up her next shot. The beast reared back, roaring triumphantly as Chloe locked in on its eye, breathing in as her heart beat and breathing slowed. She could feel time obeying, slowing to a crawl as the world around her faded to shades of gray. She focused on watching its lips curl in a snarl, then flashing to the blinking of the yellowed glassy eye the only color in her world. Her lungs were full and she held that feeling, watching as time almost stopped, finally squeezing the trigger with a prayer on her lips.

With the black spray from the creature's eye, time exploded back into motion, a split second later Chloe's world was upended as a heavy form collided with her, sending the redhead sprawling, awkwardly landing on her rifle that was still locked into her arm by its sling.

She felt the form push off of her and turned her head in time to see Jess standing over her, charging the plasma blade on her rifle. It glowed white hot just in time as one of the three predators closed within striking distance, Jess lashed out, the blade singing through the air ending in a wet squelch and inhuman scream of pain and rage.

Chloe pushed up, as one of the other creatures plowed into her, all claws and teeth. She managed to get her arms up in time and the beast's curved fangs bit down her rifle tugging it with enough force to send Chloe flying again, wrenching her shoulder painfully as she still had the sling wrapped around her forearm. Landing heavily she rolled to her side immediately, base instinct saving her from being gored as one of the creatures swiped ineffectively at the space she had just vacated.

Aubrey was by Chloe's side in the next instant, shouting for everyone to energize their plasma blades and take the creatures on hand to hand. The Marines were at a distinct disadvantage despite the early success against the creatures. The reptilian creatures now eyed their prey warily and seemed to be communicating with each other as they circled relentlessly, looking for an opening.

Chloe felt lethargic and slow, as if trying to kick to the surface from deep underwater, she felt slick warmth on her leg, apparently the creature had gotten a claw or two on her, though the area was strangely numb. She could hear her friends yelling battlecries as they took on the monsters with only the molten blades.

Aubrey's shout rang out, "We have to help them, go for the walkway."

Next to her Jess and Aubrey closed ranks, causing the monsters to leap back and assess the threat in front of them. Their misshapen heads lolling back and forth as if scenting the air.

After a heartbeat, one of the creatures shot to each side and tried to lunge in at an angle, boxing them in and demonstrating a disconcerting level of intelligence. Chloe moved to face one, Jess and Aubrey moving with fluid grace to match the others movements. The creatures didn't hesitate but closed on the Marines with lethal intent. It was all they could do to stay out of the reach of the claws and stay on their feet.

They traded blows, neither side gaining an upper hand. Across the room Jesse and Benji were fighting another of the creatures, one bigger than the rest, looking evenly matched.

A vicious backhand from one of the creatures sent Aubrey sprawling with a yelp, the same moment as Jess knocked her monster back and scrambled to cover Aubrey, placing herself now between the two monsters. Sensing their advantage the creatures attacked in tandem, Jess blocked the high attack from one only to have the other plow into her midsection, sending all of them tumbling back into Aubrey who had just regained her footing, only to be knocked down again. Chloe watched this happen out of the corner of her eye while trying to close in on the creature in front of her. It stayed frustratingly out of reach, almost as if goading her.

An inhuman scream from the direction of the mezzanine grabbed it's attention for a split second and Chloe pressed in, slashing it across it's lizard-like throat, struggling to bury the blade as deep as she could while the creature raked her arms with its claws in the throes of death before finally succumbing and falling to the ground with a thud, Chloe's rifle protruding from its neck.

She glanced around seeing Aubrey kneeling over an unresponsive Jess, both plasma rifles still embedded in the bodies of the creatures. Aubrey was doing her best to put pressure on the wound in the other woman's side. Chloe shifted her gaze to the mezzanine where a pitched battle was taking place. Donald, Stacie and Sophia were on one end trying to take down the one remaining monster between them and Beca. The small woman was feebly swinging at the creature in front of her, obviously wounded from the way she was slumped against the railing at her back. The glowing blade on her rifle the only thing keeping it back.

Suddenly the station rocked on its axis, shuddering and heaving with metal screaming and shearing. The erratic movement threw the Marines and the creatures to the floor, just as everyone and everything was slowly regaining their feet, another shudder ripped through the space plunging the room into darkness. The plasma blades of the Marines provided the only illumination casting sinister shadows on the walls that turned and fought as the creatures closed in once again on the beleaguered Marines.

Bumper's voice cut in as soon as the lights went out.

"Valkyrie! Socks!" His voice was hoarse as if he had been shouting for a while, "If you can hear this, get the fuck off the station now!"

Aubrey couldn't afford to reply, she was trying to stop the flow of blood from Jess' wound. The slim woman hadn't moved since being thrown to the ground and Aubrey feared the worst.

Donald saved her the trouble by replying, his own voice hoarse from exertion, "We've got hostiles. Repeat we've engaged hostiles."

"Fuck!" Bumper replied. "We've got to fucking go now. This whole station is going to be vaporized soon."

As if sensing the danger, the monsters fighting the Marines paused, cocking their heads as if listening. A high pitched sound, worse than fingernails on a chalkboard echoed through the space and the monsters seemed dazed by it. After a moment's pause the Marines took their advantage where they could and pressed closer to the beasts, lashing out with molten blades. The screams of the creatures mingled with the shouts and grunts from the warriors. Chloe stepped next to Aubrey grabbing Jess' rifle off the ground and buried the blade deep into the back of a monster that had come up behind the blonde woman as she was focused on Jess. Aubrey nodded her thanks quickly before turning to scan for danger, only to find that the monsters had retreated or been killed.

"Where are they?" Benji shouted fearfully.

Aubrey clicked her helmet lamp on sweeping the room quickly, looking for signs of the monsters. She couldn't see any of the reptilian forms, though the dancing shadows created did nothing to relieve her tension.

"Benji, grab Jess." Aubrey clicked over to their general TAC channel, "Everyone, stay alert. We don't know how many are left." She paused then continued, "Socks, report status."

In the distance on the mezzanine, she saw the high powered helmet lamps turning on.

"Valkyrie, we've got wounded, standby." A choking sound came across the channel before he could key the mic fully off. After a moment he keyed in again, "Kolio….he's…he's gone."

While he was speaking Aubrey took stock of her team, trying to stay present and compartmentalize. They'd mourn Kolio later, but right now, she needed to get the rest of them out alive. A few feet away Benji and Jesse were lifting Jess' limp form up between them, a beat later she realized Chloe was wrapping something around her arm.

"You're bleeding." Was the tight lipped response she got to her raised eyebrow.

Aubrey shook off the weird numbness and forced herself to concentrate. "So are you." Chloe's suit was sliced up the arms and blood was seeping through a makeshift bandage on her leg.

Chloe just grunted in reply and finished tying off the makeshift bandage on Aubrey's bicep.

Still a little shaky from the adrenaline coursing through her, Aubrey pulled at the tears in Chloe's suit trying to get a better look while keying her mic to check on Donald's team. "Socks, anyway you can get to us?"

"Valkyrie, we're in bad shape. Angel and Nomad are down, Jack is wounded."

Chloe looked over her shoulder at the lights moving on the mezzanine, casting eerie shadows along the walls, doing her best to keep her voice from cracking, she put her hand on Aubrey's forearm to ground the other woman who was staring at the lights intently.

"Aubrey, it's only him and CR, we'll need to help."

Aubrey woodenly looked over her shoulder to where Jesse and Benji were waiting with Jess supported between them, back to Chloe and then to the black expanse of space that was hiding who knows what between them and their friends. Between her and Stacie.

"I'll go, you stay here and cover them." Chloe said, nodding in the direction of Jesse and Benji. She turned, pulling her rifle out of the body at her feet with a sickening squelch.

"Wait, I'm coming with you." Aubrey pulled her own rifle out, having to use her foot as leverage to release the embedded weapon. "Jesse, head for the doorway and wait for us there."

"Roger that." Jesse helped Benji get Jess in a fireman's carry, and took up a guard position as Chloe and Aubrey moved off at a cautious pace, sweeping their headlamps across the room. Aubrey had to force herself not to jump at shadows as she followed a half step behind a limping Chloe.

Emerging from the maze of half walls, Chloe and Aubrey found CR and Donald bent over the prone forms of Stacie and Beca at the foot of the stairs, with Sophia's still form slumped against a wall. Chloe let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding as she saw Beca slapping at Donald's hands and trying to get up. She could feel the tension radiating from Aubrey behind her. Stacie wasn't moving.

CR turned relieved eyes on them, and shook her head seeing their wounds. "Glad you guys made it," she rasped out.

"How are they?" Aubrey winced at hearing her voice crack.

"Stacie's unconscious, but stable. Beca's awake but pretty bad. I gave her a shot of nano's to help stabilize the internal bleeding."

Aubrey and Chloe both inhaled sharply at hearing he had used nano's. The tech was still experimental and no one really liked the thought of a couple thousand tiny robots being injected into their bodies. Another loud rumble shook the station, reminding them they were on borrowed time.

Aubrey steeled herself, "We have to go, get them up and let's go."

Donald nodded, tamping down on his worry.

CR pulled Stacie into a fireman's carry and Donald and Chloe helped Beca and Sophia to their feet. Both were woozy and uncoordinated but at least somewhat mobile. Donald braced Beca, while Aubrey moved in to support Sophia, nodding to Chloe to start moving.

The station was shaking non-stop now, making the floor vibrate disconcertingly.

Bumper's voice came over the comms, "Valkyrie, I sent coordinates to your HUD. You have to get there. Whatever was blocking our sensors is down. We're bringing the Badger as close as we can to you."

Aubrey felt hope blossom on her chest as she called up the station blueprints seeing that Bumper had picked a location not too far away. Only to have that hope flee with his next words.

"Bad news is, we caught some fleeting readings of life signs between you and us. They weren't human."


	23. Chapter 23

Aubrey struggled under Sophia's weight, trying to tamp down on her unease at hearing Beca's watery cough behind her and CR's labored breathing as she carried an unconscious Stacie. Up ahead Chloe moved cautiously, favoring her injured leg, sweeping her rifle and headlamp across the shadowy expanses of the room. Scampering and other noises could be heard, but the Marines' lamps revealed nothing except shadows that seemed to move with sinister purpose. The constant rumbling was making the deck shift and tilt beneath their feet, throwing off their movements and making it harder to keep from jostling the friends they are carrying.

It takes only moments for them to cross to where Benji and Jesse were waiting – tending to a still unconscious Jessica, but the tension and danger made it seem like an hour. Benji turns to Aubrey, worry marring his innocent features, making him seem older somehow.

"Report." Aubrey's terse command snaps him back to the present.

"We have movement beyond the corridor," he taps the scanner in his hand for emphasis then turns to the still form on the ground between him and Jesse, "and Jess, she's not doing too well."

Aubrey nods, still holding Sophia up, taking the information in while CR carefully lays Stacie on the ground. Donald loses his grip on Beca as she collapses against the wall, struggling to breathe through the blood in her lungs. Chloe sinks down to her knees beside her and loosens the tactical vest to assess the damage beneath, drawing in a sharp breath at the damage she sees. Quickly she tears open a gel pack and begins working frantically with Donald to get Beca stabilized. Beca's navy eyes are pain filled and glassy. Blood is flecked on the inside of her helmet's visor.

Aubrey is struggling to block out how many of her friends are lying on the ground wounded, most likely dying and concentrate on what they need to do, what she needs to do in order to keep them all alive. She can't even bear to look at Stacie, instead focusing on the scanner Benji is showing her, the diagrams outlining the route. He has marked where the life-signs were detected. Sucking in a steadying breath, she turns to everyone, feeling the burden of command acutely in this charged moment.

"We have to go. Donald, strap Beca to CR, Benji get Jess up." Ignoring the incredulous glares her instructions elicit Aubrey continues. "Jesse, get Stacie." Donald, take point. Chloe watch our six."

Jesse looks over his shoulder at her like she is a monster, "You can't be serious! They aren't stable!"

She shuts him down with a wave of her arm.

Sophia starts to pull away from her grip, "Aubrey, give me the Juice." Aubrey stares at her in surprise.

Jessie stands up with Stacie on his back. "No, Sophia, you can't."

Sophia coughs and leans weakly against the wall. "No choice, half of us are immobilized. You need me on my feet."

Aubrey nods silently, opening a pouch on her belt and pulling out a metal tube. She closes the distance, placing her hand on one side of Sophia's neck as she presses the silvery tube against the neck port in the combat suit. Locking eyes with her for a moment to give the other woman a chance to change her mind.

"Aubrey! No! It could kill her." Jesse moves as if to intervene, but Donald stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

Sophia nods, rasping out, "Just do it Aubrey."

Aubrey presses the button on the tube, releasing the potent chemical concoction designed to bring soldiers all but back from the dead, at least temporarily. Sophia stiffens in her arms and convulses, shaking as the drug courses through her system.

Aubrey braces her against the wall as the squad looks on fearfully. After a moment Sophia stills, breathing heavily. A few seconds later she pats Aubrey on the shoulder, letting her know she is ok to stand on her own.

The blonde woman steps back, handing Sophia her rifle. "Let's go."

Aubrey looks over them all, barking out, "Okay, I said move it. We can't stay here." As if to punctuate her point a loud noise from somewhere in the blackness of the room behind them reminds them they are not alone and at a distinct disadvantage.

Donald nods in agreement, "They're more of these things waking up behind us."

Aubrey chances a look over at CR who is kneeling so that Donald can strap Beca to her back, using the harnesses woven into their gear, making it look like the other woman is hugging her from behind.

Donald looks over at Aubrey, "Beca's strap is cut through," he explains grimly. He loops the small woman's arms over CR's shoulder, and turns towards the stocky woman, you'll have to hold her to you. CR nods and grasps Beca's wrists securely, standing to next to Benji to wait for the others.

Chloe locks gazes with her friend, the look of understanding and concern where Aubrey had expected to find anger, almost brings tears to her eyes. She blinks them back and turns toward the doorway and the waiting battle ahead, confident at least that the others will follow.

She eases through the doorway, every sense on alert – feeling the adrenaline start to course through her again, muscles tensing in response. The path is lit with yellow emergency lighting and appears clear. Donald eases past her and takes up point. Aubrey hears the others laboring into position behind her, steps heavy as they carry their wounded comrades.

Fifty yards down the passageway, the station starts shaking in earnest, the deck plating underneath their feet twisting and turning like a funhouse ride. The metal screams with tension adding another unsettling element to the already hellish landscape. Aubrey slows and helps Benji stay upright on a particularly violent bucking of the station. Jesse looks up at her from where he is braced on his knees, Stacie motionless over his shoulder.

"How much farther?" He asks.

Aubrey glances in the direction they are heading, "Two more junctions back towards where we came from and then we split off and have at least three more sections between us and Bumper."

She can hear the harsh breathing coming over the comms from her team, knowing that carrying their friends that far won't be easy, even without the threat of the superhuman monsters waiting for them or the station doing its best impression of a funhouse ride. The groaning of metal broke Aubrey from her thoughts, sending a few of them to their knees.

"Alright, move it Marines!" She bent down to help Jesse up and then pulled him along as the others did their best to stumble along. They had made it through the main artery of the station.

The section of hallway they were in, formed one of the main arterial passages in the space station. It was wide enough for several to walk abreast and the emergency lighting was better here. Every twenty feet, a raised ring protruded, providing the structural bracing for the sections. Aubrey could see the T-junction ahead, her heart was warring with her mind over their chances to reach the safety of the waiting Badger. She calculated the distance in her mind, worrying at how many side passages lay between them and safety, any one of them or at worst all of them could be hiding more of the monsters that they had been fighting.

Donald held up a hand and the rest halted. He motioned Aubrey forward and they both crept closer to the junction. Aubrey eased around, providing cover as Donald crouched low. The next section stretched out about fifty yards before bending out of view. Aubrey looked at her HUD and sighed.

She placed her hand on Donald's shoulder, "We'll be exposed. A couple of junctions between us and the end there."

Donald turned towards her, putting her fears into words, "Plenty of space for them to hide." He looked down at the scanner in his hand, "No movement or life signs I can see though."

Aubrey shook her head, "I don't like it."

Donald nodded his agreement. "No other choice." He keyed his mic. "Bumper, we're headed your way. Any sign of the hostiles?"

The channel crackled with static for a moment before Bumpers voice came over. He sounded apologetic and stressed, "No, but too much interference to tell for sure, we can barely see your life signs."

Understanding that waiting wouldn't change anything, Aubrey turned to motion the others forward, before she could complete the command, the ground upended and the gravity fluctuated wildly, flinging her into the side of the station only to leave her weightless, then send her flying into a wall. The lights blinked on and off in time with the fluctuations, giving a surreal strobe like quality to the chaos that followed.

The walls gave little in the way of handholds and gravity seemed to spring back with greater force each time. Snapshots captured in the strobe lights of the fluttering power left images of the Marines tumbling seared across her vision.

_Flash_

Donald braced in the doorway, hand outstretched towards her.

_Flash_

Jess reaching for Sophia's leg as the woman's body went careening by.

_Flash_

Beca's strap separating, flinging her away from CR.

_Flash_

A frantic Chloe pushing off the wall to collide with Beca in midair.

_Flash_

Jesse holding tight to a protrusion on the wall, Stacie limp against his back.

_Flash_

Chloe, clutching Beca to her, turning her body to absorb the blow, keeping Beca from hitting the floor as gravity returned.

_Flash_

Benji gripping one of the braces on the wall, pinning Jess between him and it.

The chaos seemingly lasted forever, a mess of shifting images that left Aubrey wondering if she was going to vomit into her suit. The Marines were left floating, the weightlessness jarring to the senses as they struggled to grab hold onto anything to stop their tumbling. CR managed to get a hand on Sophia and was holding onto a control console situated on the wall with the other. Aubrey grabbed the back of Benji's combat suit with one hand to keep herself from floating farther down the hallway.

Donald peered at them from his perch in the doorway.

"Everyone okay?" he asked.

Grunts and groans answered. A few moments later, they were back under control, pulling themselves up and anchoring their unconscious charges to them with their suit straps.

Donald continued, "We should use the Zero G while we can. No telling how long it will last."

Aubrey nodded and helped Benji finish securing Jess then moved to Chloe and Beca while Benji pulled Jess into his arms and kicked off in the direction of Chloe and Beca.

Jesse waited, moving to take up the rear guard and watched with worried eyes as Aubrey helped Chloe steady Beca against one of the walls. Chloe had hooked her leg around a half broken off control box and had Beca pulled tight to her, Beca's back was to her front and the redhead was keeping one hand to put pressure on Beca's side. Droplets of blood coalesced, floating away in the Zero G.

Beca blinked slowly at Aubrey, visor fogged with bloody spittle, still struggling to breathe. Chloe looked worriedly at her best friend. The redhead wasn't able to see Beca's eyes in their current position and her blue eyes searched Aubrey's green ones. The blonde woman nodded to Chloe and patted her shoulder next to where Beca's head was laying.

"We need to move quickly," was the only answer she had for Chloe's questioning gaze. Aubrey turned away, unable to look as heart wrenching worry clouded her friend's features.

Aubrey moved quickly through the section, pulling herself along past the squad that was sticking to the wall waiting for her to get into position. When she reached Donald she turned back – seeing CR taking Beca from Chloe to free up the other woman in case of a fight. She watched as her friend gave a worry filled glance her way before squaring her shoulders.

Aubrey turned to Donald who was holding her in place.

"If we kick off in groups, two by two, that should let us provide some cover for each other." Aubrey gestured down the hallway with her free hand.

Donald peered down the hallway, "Makes sense, we want to make sure not to get bunched together in case anything happens."

She stared into his eyes for a quick heartbeat, "Beca doesn't have much time."

He gazed steadily back at her, "Understood."

Nodding again, she keyed her mic, "Team, pairing you off. Socks on point. Wizard with Jack. Trips and I will follow. Rocky with Rider." She looked back down the passageway as the Marines grunted their acknowledgment.

She continued, "Watch your angles and keep the spacing. We won't have cover to rely on."

Turning back to Socks she nodded. He smiled back at her, warm brown eyes calm despite the danger. "Oohrah!" he said quietly before pushing off down the passageway towards the waiting Badger.

After waiting for a 3 count Benji pushed off with Sophia close on his heels. Aubrey motioned CR up who had Beca floating along behind her, seemingly unconscious at this point. The blonde put a hand on Beca's leg and followed knowing that Jesse and Chloe would be coming soon behind them with Stacie.

The station is shuddering in earnest now and though the lights blink, gravity remains off thankfully at this point, helping them carry the wounded through the passageway easier. Aubrey feels hope rising as they clear the first section, leaving only two more long hallways between them and escape.

That feeling shatters as she hears Donald's warning shout from up ahead. He had made it halfway down the section only to scramble to stop his flight as two misshapen heads poked from one of the side passageways.

Finally getting himself righted, he fired off several shots from his rifle, the combined effect slowing and then reversing his motion.

In seconds chaos descends as Chloe shouts a warning from behind. More of the creatures had come up now effectively boxing them in. The creatures struggled with the lack of gravity in the beginning, but seem to quickly adapt, jumping at angles in the corridor, shrugging off the stinging plasma fire. There are four of them, two in front of the beleaguered Marines and two behind. One of the creatures behind them is larger than the others, its skin an inky black making it appear almost wet.

The next sixty seconds are a complete blur. The monsters are quickly adapting to the Zero G, using the walls to push off at angles to get to the Marines who are doing their best to stay out of reach of the claws and protect the wounded in the narrow space. One finally closes in on Sophia, her plasma blade arcing white hot, searing partially through the monster's shoulder. It howls and slashes at the woman sending her spinning into Benji, who catches her, Jess still motionless on his back and uses the alien's momentary disorientation to push past the monsters.

Aubrey and Donald are yelling at everyone with wounded to go, stop engaging and try to get past the monsters while they try to hold them off with the help of Sophia and Chloe.

Chloe has always had the fluid grace of a dancer, and that grace and coordination makes her a force to be reckoned with. Aubrey watches as her friend floats, spins and uses the walls and her rifle to give her the best angles for coming at the monsters. The creatures behind them are now on the defensive as her plasma blade sears and slashes, driving them back. Drops of black fluid float in concert with red bubbles of blood in the null gravity.

Turning Aubrey glances towards their way out, seeing Benji push off, narrowly dodging one of the creatures as Donald finishes slicing his way through the shoulder of the other, severing its arm and spraying inky black fluid everywhere. He looks back over his shoulder, uncertainty at leaving his friends but Aubrey shouts for him to go. He clutches Jessica to him tighter and pushes off of another wall, heading further down the passageway.

The remaining monsters howl and chitter, apparently aware that their prey is escaping. The Marines' blood runs cold when those howls are echoed by ones from somewhere deeper in the station.

Jesse somehow managed to dodge through the fray, only to be caught by the ankle just as the freedom of the open corridor was before him. Sharp claws dug through his boot and he turned, Stacie on his back, to fire point blank into the creature's face as it tries to claw its way up his body.

It screams in agony as a shot impacts its eye and Jesse's pain filled yell echoes as the creature clamps down around his calf, claw embedding itself in the muscle. His world upends as something collides with them and the monster lets go with a grunt. Somehow Jesse managed to keep him and Stacie from impacting the wall too harshly and turns to see Sophia struggling to stay on the creature's back, her rifle floating away, lost in the collision. Black blood spills from one eye as the two combatants roll and twist, neither able to gain the advantage.

Saying a silent prayer and mentally asking for Stacie's forgiveness he launched himself at them, blade ready.

Sophia sees him coming, eyes going wide as it looks like Jesse misjudged the timing of his jump – the creature's arms are now outstretched waiting to grab him and Stacie. Sophia plunges her hand into the creature's eye socket and pulls its head back, trying to keep it from grabbing her friends. The move works, but leaves her exposed.

Screaming in earnest now at the pain, the creature twists claws finding purchase in her thick shoulder plates to grab Sophia and flip her over underneath it. Jesse is forced to pull up to avoid hitting Sophia. Instead he collides with them causing all four go careening into the opposite wall before bouncing off again in a tangle of limbs, claws and a hot blade.

Jesse hears Sophia's pained shout and twists, bring the rifle into the creature's side. He doesn't have much leverage, but holds it there, letting it burn. The creature uses its other arm to claw at Jesse – he feels the thump of the impact but looks up worriedly realizing, the creature hit Stacie and not him. Panicked now, he uses his legs to kick away from the monster turning as Donald somehow dodges him and takes up the fight with Sophia.

Donald yells as he floats past, "Jesse, just go! Now!"

Jesse hits the wall and uses the frame to propel him and his unconscious charge further down the hallway.

CR clung to a wall in the middle of the section, trapped between the two groups of fighting Marines. Between her and the waiting Badger, Donald and Sophia were still grappling with one of the creatures and behind her, Aubrey and Chloe were locked in close quarters combat with a disturbingly large version of the monsters.

Beca twitches in CR's arms, reminding the stocky woman what is at stake here and she looks frantically for an opening past Donald. "Hold on Beca." The small woman pats her the forearm that is wrapped loosely around her midsection.

"CR…just…" A hacking cough stops whatever Beca was going to say.

"Oh no, don't you go saying heroic shit now." CR searched frantically for an opening, she was watching Donald and Sophia so intently she almost missed seeing two creatures moving in from an adjacent passageway past Aubrey and Chloe.

"Hey! Guys! Look out!" She yelled and then looked down, Beca had gone limp in her arms. "Shit, shit, shit!" Turning back she shouted for Aubrey and Chloe, "Guys! We have got to go!"

Aubrey spared a glance from where she was perched on a wall, while their opponent was leaping after Chloe, then turned to look in the direction CR was looking, eyes going wide at seeing the new enemies entering the hallway.

"Chloe!" Aubrey crouched, then leapt off the wall, intent on ending this now. Chloe, looking like she was in the anti-grav gym and not in a battle for her life, somersaulted easily and pushed off at a new angle, evading the claws of her pursuer who growled angrily, touching the wall for only enough time to coil its powerful legs and push off in pursuit.

Chloe hopped again, just out of reach of its claws, "Aubrey, go!" her breath came in sharp bursts, "I've got this."

"No! I'm not leaving you Chloe." She had completed her jump just to find her quarry still on the heels of the redhead. Aubrey wasn't as good at picking angles and the gap between them increased.

Chloe was leading it farther into the station, back the way they had come from and towards the new creatures who were steadily clawing their way along the walls towards them. She cursed, not understanding what in the hell Chloe was thinking. Then she saw it, silver glinting from Chloe's hand, a plasma grenade.

Heart in her throat, thinking that the redhead was doing a suicide run, she cried out, "CHLOE NO!"

Chloe spared an exasperated glance back at Aubrey and waited. The creature pursuing her sensed something was amiss, hesitating before its animal instinct to hunt, to kill took over and it pushed off in the direction of its redheaded prey. Chloe waited a beat for it to be in mid-flight and then pushed off towards it, gun slung on her back.

Aubrey couldn't even yell, she could only watch as the redhead closed the distance, somersaulting again to put her feet towards the creature, she kicked it in the snout and then as it grabbed her hips with its claws and pulled in a mockery of a lover's embrace, opening its jaws, intent on biting her neck. Chloe used the position to her advantage and punched it in the mouth, shoving the grenade in its snapping jaws.

The creature choked, swinging its head from side to side, trying to dislodge the grenade in its throat. In a second Chloe kicked and was about five feet away from the monster, bouncing lightly off the floor when gravity returned, sending everyone crashing back into the deck. The monster hunched over hacking and coughing wetly before tossing its head. The grenade came up on the deck, covered in black slime, and yellowish bile, rolling to a stop a few feet away. The two new creatures stopped to sniff it, growling low in their throats

Chloe scrambled to her feet, almost punching Aubrey as the other woman surprised her by being so close.

"Let's go!" Aubrey grabbed Chloe by her bleeding wrist, pulling the redhead along down the passageway, heart sinking seeing that the big creature was back in pursuit.

They had made it only a few paces, when the explosion hit, the shockwave sending Chloe pitching into Aubrey and knocking both women off of their feet. The entire passageway lurched, dropping a few feet and air started rushing past them, only to go still once more. The grenade must have torn a hole in the station's plating.

Aubrey felt the blackness edge her vision, fighting it she rolled onto her back, ears ringing before pushing up on her elbows, muzzily wondering why they hadn't been spaced by the blast. Her thoughts came slow, thick and dis-jointed. Chloe was lying face down next to her legs, trying to push up off the deck unsteadily.

Looking past the struggling redhead, Aubrey saw that the largest of the three creatures was all that remained, it was on the floor twenty feet away and unmoving. A fire door was sealed shut behind it, which explained the not being spaced miracle. She hadn't even realized the station was modern enough to have them equipped. Aubrey shook her head, trying to clear it, immediately regretting the motion when stars danced across her vision. Rolling to her side, she ineffectually tried to stand again, but her balance was still off, she couldn't tell if the deck was tilting or if it was just her explosion addled brain.

She must have passed out, because rough hands were pulling at her and she fought them off, weakly before being pinned to the ground. Slowly, she blinked, turning away from the light that was shining in her eyes.

"Aubrey! Aubrey! Wake up dammit!" Donald was leaning over her, shining a light from his helmet on her. It was cracked, a part of the face shield missing and blood ran down the side of his face. Aubrey quickly ran her eyes over him, noticing the tears in his suit and blood oozing from the wounds behind them.

"You look like hell." Aubrey croaked, before struggling to sit up. Donald, helped her, giving her a quick but worried smile.

"We have to go, can you stand?" He asked, pulling on her arm again.

"Do what I have to do," she replied, leaning heavily on him while the world spun around her.

A moment later Aubrey felt a surge of panic, "Chloe?" Donald pulled her up and turned her slightly, letting her see Sophia helping the redhead stand next to her.

They set off towards where CR was waiting next to Beca's prone form. Two unmoving creatures lay not far beyond the women. The blonde felt her stomach roll, Beca was barely breathing. She quickened her pace and shrugged off Donald's help, the lethargy and wooziness retreating a bit, leaving a pounding headache in its wake. The lanky man kept pace with her, hand on her elbow, just in case.

Just as the group reached CR, the station bucked, sending everyone sprawling again, then dropped causing everyone to slide and scramble for purchase on the slick floor, Beca went sliding out of the weak grasp CR had on her. The station continued trying to shake itself apart around them as Aubrey lunged for Beca, grasping the tattered edge of her suit, only to have it tear, the small woman continued sliding. Chloe had braced herself on one of the stations support struts and kicked her legs out, wrapping them around Beca, locking her ankles together and stopping the smaller woman's motion, eyes tearing at the pain in her arms as she clung to the metal beam doing her best to support Beca's weight. Blood from the wounds on her forearms coated her hands, making them slippery and was now running down towards her shoulders.

"Aubrey!" Chloe cried out, voice weak with strain, "I'm losing her." Chloe tried adjusting her grip, feeling the first tingles of numbness start to set in on her bad arm. The station shuddered again and Chloe groaned under the strain. She almost let go in surprise as she watched the two dead creatures slide past where she was braced.

"Chloe! Hold on!" Aubrey searched for a way to reach her friends, but from her position she was too far up. Ten feet above her the section curved, but below her the angle was too steep to for them to do more than hold on. They would have to find a way to climb out.

Sophia was trying to edge along the floor, keeping her feet braced along the lip of the strut below Chloe. Donald was wedged on the wall between CR and Aubrey. The blonde woman looked up at them.

"CR, Donald, climb, see if you can find something we can use as a rope." Aubrey waited a second, watching as the two nodded and started carefully climbing to the top then turned her attention to the women below her. What she saw made her blood run cold. The large creature was awake and climbing towards Sophia and Chloe.

Sophia heard it moving below her and looked up worriedly. "Any ideas?" She called up to Aubrey.

"Working on it." Aubrey replied.

Chloe looked down past Beca and saw what they were talking about. Looking up at her hands she groaned again in frustration.

Sophia had made it over where the floor plate edged the wall and used the edge where the plates were welded in to help climb up toward where Chloe was hanging. She drew even with the redhead, sweating and out of breath from the exertion of her climb and the drugs coursing through her system that were making her heart thump out a staccato beat against her rib cage.

Sidling close to Chloe, Sophia did her best to wedge her foot in the seam, giving her some bracing, though it was a tad precarious. Holding onto the plating with one hand she used the other to take some of Beca's weight and give Chloe some relief.

Beca's weight lessened and Chloe looked at Sophia thankfully, shifting to get a better grip, wincing when the pins and needles let her know feeling was returning to her arm and hand. A crash from below made them both jump, almost causing Chloe to lose her grip again.

Looking below the monster had slid back down to the bottom, having lost its footing. It paced back and forth, eyeing the distances and its prey. Seeing that the Marines were staring down at it, it let out a guttural howl that sent shivers down their spines.

"HO! You bunch, look alive!" Luke's British accent echoed down, the sandy haired man was leaning over the edge.

Sophia was the first to react, "Luke! Down here!"

Luke turned and the women could hear him muttering into the channel. Quickly Donald's and Cynthia Rose's heads popped over the edge. The three Marines lay along the edge, throwing a long swath of cargo webbing over the side. Its torn ends showed that it had been forcefully removed from the Badger. They lowered and then CR's head disappeared.

Her voice came over the comms, "Ok guys, it's anchored the best we can. Can you make it up to it?"

Aubrey sighed, the webbing ended about ten feet above her. It could be fifty for all the difference it would make. That section was devoid of any form of handholds.

"We are about ten feet short." Aubrey paused looking down at Chloe, Sophia and Beca before adding, "I don't think we're in any shape to reach it."

Donald's head popped back over the edge and he swore in a mix of Hindi and English before disappearing again.

"Uh guys," Sophia called up from below, "might want to hurry."

"What?" Aubrey looked down and saw that while they had been focused on their friends, the creature had made it halfway up to where Chloe and Sophia held Beca. Aubrey did her best to keep the fear for her friends out of her voice, "Chloe, Sophia, can you move at all?"

Chloe was twisted, half on her side, legs around Beca and hands with a death grip on the structure above her. There was no way for her to get enough leverage to pull Beca up with her from the position she was in.

Sophia leaned over the redhead. "Chloe hold Beca and get a good grip." She worked her arms around Chloe, fumbling with the rifle on her back.

"What? Why?" Chloe turned curious blue eyes on the taller woman.

Grunting, Sophia pulled the sling free from the rifle, letting it clatter down the decking to the door below. She then grabbed the edges of Chloe's sleeve, tearing it the rest of the way down her arm and almost dislodging her hold.

Sophia then brought her Ka-bar knife from its sheath on her boot and held it between her teeth while she worked the fabric loose from Chloe's arm. Once the fabric was clear she used her knife to cut the rest of the redhead's sleeve away and then repeated the motion on the other arm, finishing what the creatures with their claws had started, leaving her two strips of tattered cloth.

Clucking at the damage she could see now on the Chloe's arms, she turned sympathetic hazel eyes to the slim woman and put the knife away, working quickly to tie the ends of the cloth strips together and to the sling, looping it under Beca's armpits, she pulled it tight. Now they had a makeshift sling for Beca.

Keying her mic, Sophia called up to their friends, "Luke we need some line, or rope. Have to pull Beca up."

"Working on it." Was all he replied.

Several long minutes passed with Chloe and Sophia alternating taking Beca's weight before Luke and Donald appeared again. This time with hastily threaded together strapping that must have been scavenged from the remaining cargo netting on the badger.

Aubrey ducked as the buckle attached to the makeshift line clunked past her and stopped next to Chloe. Sophia reached across the redhead's body grasping the ends with the buckle and looped it through Beca's sling praying it would hold. Her breath was coming fast, making it hard to bring air into her lungs meaning her time was running out with the drugs. She looked over at Chloe, preparing to loop the webbing around the other woman, but Chloe shook her head.

The redhead looked up worriedly, at the distance they had to cover and then back at Sophia. "Go with Beca."

Sophia looked like she was about to protest, blinking the sweat out of her eyes she glared at Chloe, before caving in, "Only, because we don't have time to argue, Beale."

"I'll be right behind you Daniel's." Chloe did her best to give a cocky grin, while the other woman fastened the line around her torso and clung to Beca. "Save me a seat on the Badger."

Sophia nodded then tugged the rope, giving one last long look at Chloe, "Ok, pull us up!" She called.

The journey up was harrowing for everyone, the grunts of Luke, Donald and CR could be heard through the open channel as they worked to pull up Sophia and Beca. Sophia did her best to keep them out of the way of obstructions and guide the makeshift rope so it didn't fray on the sharp corners. It was slow going with the uneven knots on the webbing getting caught often.

After Sophia was safely on her way Chloe worked to climb up to where Aubrey was, but it was slow going between her arm and the lack of handholds.

The creature below was gaining on her.

Sophia reached the webbing doing her best to use it to help the team above pull them up.

Aubrey had gone down a few feet to get closer to Chloe, grabbing the woman by the back of her collar and helping her close the rest of the distance. They both climbed up to the ledge Aubrey had been standing on.

Aubrey leaned her head against the wall and watched as Chloe sucked air in beside her. The redhead's hand was trembling in earnest now, and she clenched it as if in pain. The deep gouges on her forearms still bled sluggishly.

Chloe was resting her forehead against the wall, not noticing Aubrey's assessing gaze. When she lifted her head up Aubrey had looked down, gauging the monster's approach. "I have another grenade." She said when she saw where the blonde was looking.

Aubrey shook her head at Chloe, grunting a no before radioing up to the others, "Donald, that thing is getting really close."

"Coming." Donald's breathless reply was punctuated by the 'clink, clank, clunk' of the returning line pin-balling off of the obstructions.

Grabbing the swaying line, Aubrey began wrapping it around Chloe only to have the redhead push her chest, "Aubrey no, you go."

"Chloe don't argue, we're both going." Aubrey's tone was laced with steel.

The redhead studied the webbing and the knots, already fraying in places, before trying again, calmly, "I don't know if it can take both of us Bree."

Ignoring Chloe, Aubrey finished her prep. She wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck, knowing the straps had to be digging into the other woman's armpits rather painfully.

Sighing, Chloe wrapped her legs around Aubrey to give her a better grip and lifted her good hand to wrap around the rope and take some of the strain.

Slowly they started up the side, with Aubrey doing her best to brace on any equipment or footholds she could.

"Uh Aubrey, can you climb up me?" Chloe's worried voice sounded in her ear.

"What? Why?"

"The rope, its coming apart."

They were still a few feet below the edge of the webbing and Aubrey saw what Chloe was talking about, a few feet above them the webbing was sliding out of the knot. She lifted up a bit, Chloe helping her by pulling her arms up around Aubrey's thighs and lifting.

"Donald the rope is fraying, need a big pull now!" Aubrey hoped they understood what she meant. She heard them groan with effort and they raised the last few feet in a quick burst. Aubrey had just locked her hands in the webbing when the line gave way. Chloe was wrapped around her and she struggled under their combined weight as the end now dangled uselessly from the redhead's hips.

"Chloe, climb, now." Aubrey grunted with the strain and closed her eyes as Chloe worked her way up her aching body, trying not to cry out as the redhead's hands gripped over her wounds. Once Chloe was on the netting and steady, Aubrey took a moment to catch her breath only to yelp as Chloe started pulling her up with her.

"What the hell Chloe? She snapped, more from pain than any real anger.

"Big ugly under us." Chloe bit out and pulled Aubrey up again. "Move it Posen."

The two scrambled up the webbing, now that she had something to grab onto Aubrey made good time up the side, Chloe's wounds slowing the normally agile redhead.

"Guys be ready to cut this down, we have company."

"Roger that Valkyrie." CR replied.

Aubrey made it over the edge, turning to help Chloe up after her, hands sliding a bit on the redhead's wounded forearms. As soon as they were both on the ledge, Luke and Donald cut through the anchor points of the webbing sending it sliding off below.

CR pulled them both up to their feet when a single clawed hand crested over the platform behind them.


End file.
